Welcome to Ouran, New Girl from America!
by nightcreature1520
Summary: Talia Robinson has earned the privilege to have a two-year scholarship to the illustrious Ouran Academy in Japan, where she makes new friends, new enemies, and discovers the Ouran Host Club. As she explores her new home, will she end up falling for the one guy who is deemed strong, silent, and unlovable? Or will she be the girl who can break through his silent shell? (MoriXOC)
1. Chapter 1

I awoke to the annoying blare of my old alarm clock, and an unwilling peek through half-closed, sleep-drowsy eyes at the menacing red numbers made me groan slightly. It was 6:00 in the morning, my required wake-up time for school, and it wouldn't be long before my mother came in to rouse me if I didn't have the willpower to get up myself. I slowly sat up, the warmth of the sheets escaping into the chilly morning air around me. My back cracked in a few places, and when my arms reached for the ceiling the rest of it followed, making me slightly sleepier.

"Talia, are you awake?" My mother's head appeared in my doorway, and the wonderful sensation of peaceful sleep was gone. "Good. Don't forget to eat breakfast before you go." Before I can nod, she disappears, heading down the small hallway and out the door to her job as a waitress at a nearby diner. "I love you!" her voice echoed down the hall, and I manage to signal some sort of response through an enormous yawn.

"I love you, too," was what I had tried to say, but the door had closed swiftly behind her, and I was unsure if she had heard or not. I heaved myself off of the low bed and stumbled over to the window while wiping sleep from my eyes, wondering if I could catch her before she pedaled off on her bike. I glanced out, seeing my mother at the end of our driveway, waiting for some cars to pass. I rapped on the window with my knuckles, and as she turned towards me I waved, smiling. She waves back, and before she leaves she mouths something to me. "Good luck today."

Good luck; that was something I would _definitely_ need today. Today would be my first day in attending Ouran Academy, a prestigious school for super rich kids whose parents were way up in the deep end of the social pool; only the kids of multi-millionaires made it into this school. Not only that, but usually only natives from Japan were allowed. Apparently, I was the first American transfer student to meet the standards for Ouran.

But, miraculously, little old I had been smart enough to earn a scholarship into this fancy school, and since my grades were so _unbelievably _great, they had agreed to offering the scholarship _and_ paying the expenses in moving me and my guardian – in an unanimous decision, my mom – to Japan. The rest of our family, which include my dad, my two brothers and my little sister, stayed behind in the United States. At first I hadn't wanted to be separated from my family, so I was prepared to decline the scholarship to Japan and find one in the States to accept. But, my family strongly encouraged me going to Japan even if it meant being away for two years. They all insisted that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that I was crazy if I even _thought_ about turning it down. They all had my back, and even though I would be moving to another country, I knew I was very fortunate to have such a loving family.

Returning to the present, I turned to my tiny closet and opened the doors, groaning at the sight of my new, ghastly uniform that I had to wear. It was a painfully bright yellow, complete with pink neck bow and white neck and cuffs. A pair of knee-high socks with brown shoes lay at the bottom of the closet, and I didn't care much for those, either. They pinched my toes when I had tried them on, and just the thought of walking around in them _for the entire_ _day_ made me cringe. But, I eventually – not to mention reluctantly – changed into it, silently praying that the day would be over soon.

Once in my clown suit, I headed into the kitchen and downed a glass of milk and a couple pieces of toast. I gathered up my bag and my school books from the small bookshelf right next to the front door, and with one last glance at the mirror on the opposite side -ensuring my straight, light brown hair was smoothed and my light green eyes were not as tired-looking as my body felt - I exited my house to see a black car waiting for me. A swift, backwards glance at the small clock hanging on the wall told me that it was 6:30; the determined time for my transportation to the school to arrive. I walked down our narrow drive, and as I approached the chauffeur got out of the car and came around to open the door for me. "Thank you," I told him, and as I sat I realized that I was extremely thankful that my old school had offered Japanese lessons online. With a curt nod, the driver closed the door behind me and quickly got back into the driver's seat. In less than a minute we were well on our way to Ouran Academy, and it only took a little over 15 minutes to arrive at the school's doors.

The driver pulled up neatly to the school's entrance, and as swiftly as he stopped he got out of the car once again and opened the door for me. "Welcome to Ouran, Miss Robinson." He said as I stepped out, my eyes widening at the vastness of the school.

The main building of the school loomed above me, the archway in front of me a monstrous mouth open and swallowing up the students flowed in, unaware of the hugeness of the entry. _They must live in buildings like this, _I thought to myself as I moved forward. With a quick, "Thank you," to the driver, I spotted a woman holding a small sign with my name on it. I walked over to her, and her eyes lit up when she saw me.

"You must be Talia," she smiled, bowing slightly. She spoke in distinctly accented English, and her dark brown eyes were warm, basically liquid dark chocolate. "My name is Shina Sato, and I am to be your tour guide for the first week of your education here at Ouran Academy. I am a third-year here, which I believe means that I am a senior by American terms, yes?"

I bowed slightly back as I answered, "Yes, I believe that's correct. I also believe that I am a second-year student according to Japanese terms. Thank you for being my guide, in advance. I'm able to speak in Japanese, if you'd rather speak in your language."

"If you wish to speak in Japanese, then we can do that," Shina instantly switched, causing me to smile slightly. "Please, follow me." She turned and began walking into the gaping mouth of the entrance, and I followed close behind. As we went on our way, she began giving an introduction on Ouran. I kind of blocked out the majority of Ouran's past and such, but I did listen to where each of the wings was and lunch times, and also the part that students were allowed back anytime after or before school hours for clubs and other activities, and night visits were permitted if the students treated the grounds with respect and didn't do anything stupid.

"Other than that, there is nothing else that you need to know." Shina paused in front of large door and handed me my schedule. "Welcome to Ouran, Talia."

"Thank you," I responded, glancing down at the schedule to see what class I would have first. Thankfully, it had been written in English, and in the first slot on the sheet, the words _Advanced Choir_ was printed next to _Instructor: Yirashima Jun_. "Will I see you again?"

"Yes," Shina smiled. "Just wait here after the class is over and I will lead you to our next class." I nodded, and as I turned for the door, Shina tottered off to wherever she had to go for her next class. I opened the door slowly and walked in.

There were three rows of students, both boys and girls, sitting and listening to the teacher talk. As I entered, the teacher looked up and smiled. "Ah, you must be Ms. Talia Robinson." The students turned to face me, and I stared at the teacher to avoid their inquiring stares.

"Yes," I responded in Japanese, and the teacher took the hint easily.

"Please, have a seat." He switched from English to Japanese easily and gestured to a chair in front of him. I moved over to it and sat down swiftly, ignoring the stares that followed me. "Welcome to our class, Ms. Robinson. Now," his attention then moved to the rest of the class, "we are going to be starting a new piece right away. You'll find it here, and may pick it up after your testing." My eyes slightly widened as he said this. As I pondered what he meant, Mr. Yirashima called up a girl to the front of his piano, and he began playing scales for her to sing. I sighed slightly, understanding and knowing that I would pass with ease.

As students went up and took their test, I heard some snickers from the back of the room, awful loud for just talk among friends. I glanced backwards to see a group of girls – there had to be at least five of them – giggling among each other, occasional looks in my direction until they noticed I had turned. They sat up straighter, and I just rolled my eyes. There was _no way_ I could already have people talking about me when I hadn't been in class for even a half an hour. But, nonetheless, the girls continued to giggle and gossip in hushed Japanese.

"Ms. Robinson, please come up to the piano," Mr. Yirashima finally called my name, and I rose swiftly, making my way over to the piano. "Now, Ms. Robinson is it at all possible that you can sing in Japanese?" he was speaking softly, as though trying not to embarrass me.

"I can," I answered, louder than he had asked. "I know many songs, some more suited for choir, some for parties and such."

"Ooh, she's a party girl," a nasty voice quietly came from the group of girls, causing them all to giggle, but I just ignored them.

"Will you sing the song more suited for choir to me?" Mr. Yirashima asked, shooting a warning glance towards the girls before looking to me again.

"Sure. One moment, please." I went to my bag, crouched down and pulled out my iPod. I put a bud in my left ear, and then proceeded to find the song I was looking for while I walked back to the piano. "This is allowed, isn't it?" I asked Mr. Yirashima as I made my way through the various menus of my iPod Nano, 3rd Gen.

"Of course," he nodded. "Whatever helps you sing your best is fine."

I nodded to signal that I'd heard, and I pressed play. "This is the song, 'Itsumo Nando Demo' from Spirited Away." I told him, and he nodded in recognition. Then, I began to sing along with the track.

It was how I'd always sang in front of people; I would stare at the back wall, occasionally moving my eyes. No fancy anything: no breathing techniques, no movement to keep rhythm, just me singing. However, everybody in the room grew silent as I sang, even the horde of gossips.

The song progressed, and I noticed people even gathering outside of the door. There were various girls and guys, but there was this particular guy who stood out over all, and I mean this metaphorically _and_ literally.

He was slightly darker than the others, and was way taller than them all; his hair was black mixed with grey, and on his shoulders sat a boy who looked like he could only be in third grade if you judged by height, with blonde hair and wide brown eyes. The taller boy was watching me with wide eyes, as they all were, but there was something different about the way he stared. I looked at him, hoping the smile I wanted to give him was showing in my eyes. As I did, the small boy whispered something into his ear, and I directed my attention back to the class.

As I came to the end, a girl popped up from the front row and sang the harmony part while I continued on with the melody. I nodded slightly at her, a sign of thanks and welcome. We finished nicely, and the instant we were done a silence came over the room.

And it was followed by thundering applause.

Everyone in the room basically exploded, applauding and cheering . . . save the group of giggly girls, who were now throwing me dirty looks. I didn't pay any attention to them, though, as I smiled shyly and kept mumbling, "Thank you," more to myself than anyone else. The people at the door cheered too; the small boy on the tall one's shoulders was all excited, but the tall one didn't say anything. He simply applauded with the rest – not as vigorously – and smiled. But the strange part was, the boy on top of his shoulders seemed really excited that he had done so; the animation in his face was very . . . animated, and I laughed softly to myself as Mr. Yirashima began to speak.

"Well done! Well done!" Mr. Yirashima praised, clapping and handing me the music sheet. "You have a very beautiful voice!"

"Thank you, sir," I said again, smiling. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Alright, everyone back in their seats. We still have some tests to get through," Mr. Yirashima waved his hands, scooting us back to our chairs. Everyone – except the Gossip Squad, as I had officially dubbed them – smiled and kept saying, "Good job!", and I sat down again next to the girl who had sang with me.

"Thanks for coming up and singing with me," I told her. "You have a very pretty voice."

"Thank you," she said shyly. "You have an incredible voice, too. My name's Aiko Yiruma."

"It's nice to meet you, Aiko. I'm Talia." I held my hand out for a handshake, and she returned it shyly. As the teacher finished up the tests, we had talked about meeting at lunch, which we both happened to share. The class was rather uneventful after the tests were done; Mr. Yirashima basically said to study the music and have the first ten measures memorized in two days. Aiko and I walked out of the classroom together, where Shina waited. As we approached her, I was stopped by the Gossip Squad.

"Hey, you," I heard, but I kept on walking. I was _not _going to get into a fight today, and I didn't anyone making fun of me. It wasn't until Aiko touched my arm that I turned, seeing the head of the Gossip Squad with my wallet. _Oh dear._

"Excuse me, but is this yours? It was lying on the floor next to your seat." She handed it out to me, and as I took it I noticed three of the girls attempting to sneak off.

"Nobody leaves until I see if everything's there," I called, causing the girls to stop in their tracks. I opened it quickly, seeing my lunch money and my ID card missing. _Go figure._

"All right, fun is fun, but I need it back," I told them, walking over to the three girls. They all shot a desperate look behind me, obviously to the girl who had handed me my wallet. It wasn't until I nearly growled, "_Now if not sooner, please,_" that each of the girls scurried into their jacket pockets and pulled out 5 dollars each, and the smallest one also had my new Ouran ID card. I took it all from them, saying, "Next time you try and steal from someone, you should work on your poker faces. You all look like scared ducks." I placed my missing property into my wallet, which went into my bag, and I turned to face the Squad's leader. "It was nice meeting you, ladies," I said, heading back over to Aiko and Shina. "Let's go," I told them, beginning to walk away. We were about to set off when a shriek from behind us turned us all around quickly.

The leader of the Gossip Squad was being held back, and something in her hand was dropped. It took me a minute to realize that the person who was restraining her was Tall Guy, and the thing that had dropped from her hand was a rather large wad of chewed up bubble gum.

"Let go of me!" she hollered, struggling to break free of his steel grip. "I'll have you expelled, Morinozuka!"

_Morinozuka?_ I thought, watching him. He wasn't trying to hurt her, but as the short boy from earlier also appeared, I concluded that they had seen what she was trying to do and had stepped up to help me.

"Last I checked, Mitzkuni, putting gum in other people's hair wasn't nice, was it?" Morinozuka asked softly, apparently talking to the short kid but continuing to look at the struggling girl in his grasp.

"You're absolutely right, Takashi," Mitzkuni nodded. "That's not a very nice thing to do." He then looked to me, eyes wide as though he just recognized who I was. "You're the girl who sang the pretty song!" he exclaimed, smiling.

"Well, one of them," I smiled back. "There were some very good singers in there besides me."

"No, you were the one Takashi went to go see," he said, still smiling. "That means you were really good!"

_Tall Guy wanted to see me?_ I thought, looking to him as a teacher appeared. He was about to ask what was going on when Takashi quietly explained what had happened, and the Gossip Squad leader was sent off with the teacher. "Thank you," I said to Takashi, smiling. "You saved me a date with some scissors."

"You're welcome," he said softly, looking to me. His eyes were filled with something as he looked at me, but I couldn't quite determine what it was. It felt as though I could almost get lost in his eyes, searching for the answer in the onyx-black depths, until Shina's voice drew me out of wondering.

"Talia, we should really be heading off to our next class," Shina gently reminded, and her voice caused me to pull my schedule out of my pocket. My next class would be Algebra 2, and Shina was right; we'd better get a move on. I also made a conscious realization: _Had I been staring at him?_

"Okay; you're the boss." I said, looking to her and stuffing the schedule back into my pocket. I turned to Tall Guy again, saying, "Thanks again, Taka –"

"Mori," he corrected softly, and I nodded.

"Thanks, Mori. My name's Talia, by the way. It was nice to meet you."

"Bye, Talia!" Mitzkuni smiled, waving as Shina tugged on my arm, steering me towards our next class together. As we left, I swear that I could feel Mori still watching me as I left.

The strange part was: a secret part of me down inside hoped he was.


	2. Chapter 2

My first day at Ouran continued smoothly after that, aside from some more nasty glares from various members of the Gossip Squad for sending their leader home for the day, and many compliments on my singing from various other students who had been either in the class with me or had heard me in the hall. All of my classes would be relatively easy; just because I had outstanding grades didn't mean that I had to take super-hard classes, and they were all the classes that I had been taking back home all over again. Shina was in the majority of them, as was Aiko, but there was one class where neither of them were there; but Mori and Mitzkuni were.

We were in some form of English – well, Japanese, actually. Whereas the rest of the class was taking further Japanese, I was in the corner with a translator learning 12th grade English. The way I was sitting, however, I could see Mori and Mitzkuni – and the rest of the class, for that matter – perfectly, while they were all facing forward. My translator was teaching me new vocabulary (_yawn_) and as I half-paid attention to what she was saying, I glanced up to see what everyone else was doing. And as I did, I saw Mori looking at me.

It scared me at first, thinking that someone had been watching me; wouldn't you be freaked out if you were minding your own business, about to die from boredom, and looked up to see a stranger staring at you? But then, that secret part of me sprang up, almost dancing with excitement inside me. I smiled at him, and then returned to answer the question my teacher had asked. She asked me a few more questions – which I answered all correctly, wondering why I had to retake the same class I had taken and passed last year – and then afterward she assigned my homework and left, leaving me alone in the back of the room. The other students had been assigned their homework, too, and as I soon finished mine, I looked around the classroom.

There were many students, surprisingly an equal amount of guys and girls, all dressed in the same uniforms; guys, a blue suit and tie getup, and the girls in our ugly yellow marshmallow dresses. The teacher sat at her desk, correcting some papers, and the room was basically dead silent except for the scribbling of pencils on paper and the soft breathing of everybody.

Growing bored of watching everyone doing their work, I pulled out a piece of blank copy paper from my drawing folder – basically with me at all times, 24-7 – and began to draw. I had loved anime ever since I could remember; watching Pokémon when I was like seven and being hooked ever since. I learned how to draw it, part original and part my way, and everyone seemed really impressed by how I did my drawings. I easily sketched out a basic frame, when the teacher called the class' attention.

"When you are finished with your homework, you may quietly talk amongst yourselves until the bell rings," she announced, and after her brief announcement she turned back to the papers she had been grading.

_Well, that's dandy for me,_ I thought sarcastically, knowing that none of the people in this room would want to talk to me. I thought about closing my eyes and taking a nap when a girl appeared before my desk, quiet and shy.

"Hello," I said, smiling as I looked up at her. "Can I help you?"

She nodded, and then looked down at the chair my feet were on. "My name's Jinga Yukari; can I sit with you?" she asked softly.

"Oh, sure," I answered, removing my feet – which had been resting on the chair that my translator had been sitting in – and sitting up as she sat down in the chair. I slid my drawing back into my folder as I asked, "So, what brings you to my lonely desk in the back of the room?"

"I wanted to tell you that you were really good in Choir today," she said, her light blue eyes avoiding mine. "You have a pretty voice."

"Thanks," I smiled. "I don't think I heard you sing, but I'm sure your voice is really good too." I was awarded a shy smile from her before I asked, "So, how are you doing in this class? Anything new happen today?"

"No," she responded. "It's all pretty basic Japanese. What about you?"

"This class would actually be my favorite if I didn't have to take the same class over again."

"Really? You've taken this class before?" Jinga looked straight at me this time, her eyes wide.

"English 12? Yeah, I took the class when I was a sophomore." I soon realized that she didn't understand, and amended, "When I was a first-year student." Her eyes lit up in understanding, and I continued, "It's pretty basic stuff, but everyone back home complains that it's too hard when it really isn't."

"Is that common in all of your classes back in America?" Jinga nodded as she asked the next question.

"Yes," I answered simply, and then the teacher called the class back to attention.

"Before you leave, there will be a homework assignment on my desk for you to pick up. The excuse 'I forgot to pick it up,' will not be taken. The assignment will be due the moment you walk in." As she finished, she signaled for me to come up to her desk.

"I'll be right back, Jinga," I told her; she nodded, and I went up to the teacher.

As I approached, she handed me a separate sheet. "This is from your English teacher," she said, "and she wants it done by tomorrow as well."

"Yes, ma'am," I answered, nodding. "Thank you." I took the paper and headed back to my seat – wondering why I had two assignments and everyone else only had one – seeing Mitzkuni had appeared beside Mori, talking excitedly in his ear. As I walked by, I noticed Mori looking at me – again – and as I drew closer, he quickly refocused on Mitzkuni, as though trying to avoid grabbing my attention. _Too late for that, big guy,_ I thought, smiling as I sat back down.

"You're back," Jinga said, smiling slightly.

"I am," As I nodded, my attention was directed to Mitzkuni, who – by the way he was jiggling in his seat – seemed ready to pee himself. "Is he alright?" I asked, slightly worried.

Jinga turned, seeing Mitzkuni. "You mean Honey? Yeah, I think he'll be fine."

"His name is Honey?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah; you see, his real name is Mitzkuni Hunninozuka, but everybody calls him Honey. Only Mori calls him 'Mitzkuni.'"

"Oh, I see. Cool."

Jinga looked back at Honey one last time before turning back to me and asking, "How long have you been coming to Ouran?"

"Just since today, actually. I was transferred here not too long ago, just before the school year started." I explained. "I'm actually taking all the classes that I had been last year now, so it's kind of boring."

Jinga nodded. "Have you heard about all of the after-school activities they have here?" she asked.

"Well, Shina said that there were some, but I wasn't really paying attention," I admitted. "I was still getting over how large the school was."

"Yeah, it is kind of big."

"Kind of?" I laughed, looking at her. "This is the biggest building I've ever been in, let alone seen! Do you guys_ live_ in houses that are this big?"

Now it was Jinga's turn to laugh. "No; they are smaller, but not by much."

"It's incredible," I commented. "I'd have never thought I'd ever be anywhere _near_ a building this big, let alone go to school in one on a scholarship."

"You're here on a scholarship?" Jinga asked, her eyes bright and questioning.

"Yeah, my school had to take this huge test, and then the board here took a look at all of the grades and the school records, and then I received a letter asking if I wanted to come to school here. I had to leave most of my family behind, but I came with my mom and the support of my friends and family; that's all I really need to take on this new school." I explained, thinking about my father, my two brothers, younger and older, and my little sister, who would be turning seven very soon.

"That's very brave of you," Jinga commented. "I don't think that I could go very long without both of my parents."

"Yeah," I shrugged, not thinking much of it. "Sometimes, you've gotta do what you gotta do." I looked up at the clock, seeing there was only a minute left until the bell rang. "Almost time to go."

"Yes it is." Jinga nodded, and as she turned, Mori walked up to us.

"Hey there," I greeted, smiling. "Aren't you the guy who saved me from being mauled with bubblegum?"

"Here," Mori said quickly, nodding and reaching into his jacket pocket and handing me a little card. I took it from him, curious. I flipped it open, and inside it read: _This special pass allows one guest to have unlimited access to the Host Club, whether it is before, during, or after our viewing times to the public. Card must be present in order to gain access._ "I want you to have it."

"Thanks," I said, sticking the pass in my drawing folder. "But, I do have one question for you: what is the Host Club?"

Mori smiled slightly – probably from Jinga's hushed gasp – as he explained. "Why don't you come and see for yourself? We gather in Music Room #3. Mitzkuni and I are members, and I'd like you to come."

"I will definitely do that," I assured him, making a small note in my planner and also in my brain. "Thanks again, Mori." He nodded as the bell rang, and he left with Honey while Jinga and I walked out of the room together.

I saw Aiko and Shina waiting for me as we came out of the room. "See you later!" I said, waving goodbye to Mori and going over to where Aiko and Shina stood with Jinga following. They smiled at me, but when they noticed I had said goodbye to Mori, they began gawking. "What?" I asked, worried for them momentarily.

"Why were you talking to Mori?" Shina asked, her voice trembling with either excitement or nervousness.

"Well, he _did_ stop that girl from putting gum in my hair, so we talked for a bit right before class ended. He's really nice," I said, looking back at Mori, who was walking off with Honey towards their next class.

"You've obviously have never heard of the Host Club, have you?" Aiko giggled, and I shook my head, pulling out Mori's card. Shina and Jinga had also giggled and exchanged a glance with each other; I assumed that they were already friends.

"Nope, but he did give me this, which does mention the illustrious Host Club," I said, handing her the card. "What is it for?"

Aiko looked at the card, and her eyes widened as she gasped. Shina and Jinga also read the card, and Shina smiled giddily. "You _have_ to be the luckiest girl in the entire school!" she crowed. "I've only heard of these cards, but I've never actually seen one!"

"Oh, Talia, you're so lucky!" Jinga chimed in, literally prancing around me.

"Guys, guys! Hold on a minute!" I exclaimed, drawing their attention back from whatever fantasy they were in, taking the card from Aiko before she lost it. "What is the Host Club? Remember me, the new girl? I have no idea what you three are going on about!"

"Oh, it's the place where girls can go and hang out with these super cute boys," Shina explained, obviously an expert on the Host Club. "They always gather after school, but rumor has it that the boys give out these little cards to the guests they really like so that they can hang out on the weekends the Hosts don't have events for regular guests."

"Really?" I looked down at the little card, wondering why Mori would give it to me – the new transfer student whom he'd saved from a hair cut – instead of some other guest who had actually known what the Host Club was. "Why'd he give it to me then?"

"_Because_," Aiko stressed, "he probably really likes you!"

"But he barely even knows me!" I smiled; I was thrilled at the thought that someone actually liked me – a bit amused that I had to go all the way to Japan to find him – but still very confused and unsure.

"The strange part is, Mori really never shows any favor toward any girl," Jinga said, thinking. "He's always so protective of Honey – you saw him in our last class – and whenever a girl tells Mori that he likes them, he always turns them down."

"I never said I liked Mori!" I exclaimed indignantly, but my new friends ignored me, continuing to speculate in front of me.

"This could be big!" Aiko squealed again. "Picture it," she said, holding her arms out in front of her. "The strong and silent Host finally meets his match; the foreign-exchange student from America!"

"Aiko! Shina! Jinga! _Please_!" I snapped my fingers in all of their faces, causing them to finally come somewhat back to reality. "Before we start _jumping to conclusions_, can we _please_ think this out rationally?" I held out my fingers and counted off on them. "One, Mori just met me today. I do not see how he can be full-fledged _in love with me_ when we've only known each other for about five hours. Two, I know almost absolutely _nothing _about who he is or what he's like. That's kind of a big issue for me if I'm going to even _think_ about dating someone!"

"But that's what the Host Club's for!" Aiko insisted. "The more you go, the more you'll get to know about Mori! The more you know about Mori, the more available it makes him!"

"Let's talk about this later," Shina finally ended the conversation. "We need to get to our last class." Aiko gave up with a disappointed sigh, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't know if I could take anymore talk of boys in one day.

But as we made our way to our next and final class, my mind was racing. Could what they have said really be true? Could I really be the first girl to ever break through Mori's silent act and find the real him? Or were my over-imaginative friends just being that? My heart twisted with anticipation – much to my dismay and pleasure at the same time – as the last hour of the day passed and I walked with Aiko, Jinga and Shina to Music Room #3, where I would take my first visit to the Ouran Host Club.


	3. Chapter 3

Shina, Aiko, and Jinga escorted me in our own little pod to the doors of Music Room #3, where the Ouran Host Club lay beyond. Their eyes glowed with excitement, whereas my heart was still twisted with nervous excitement about the card that Mori gave me. Judging from my friends' reactions to the card, I wondered if I would be able to stomach what I was about to walk into. (I have never been the girl to go crazy for boys, and I worried how much worse the girls inside this club would be compared to my friends.) I also made a mental note in the back of my mind not to mention the card while in the club. No need for every Mori-crazy – Host Club-crazy, for that matter – girl in the school to be breathing down my neck because of a little slip of fancy paper. I was stopped abruptly as my friends whirled around and gave me the run-down of the Host Club just outside its doors.

"When you enter, you'll be greeted by one of the Hosts if not more than one," Aiko instructed seriously. "When Mori realizes you're there, he won't show you any special favor because of the other girls there. Also, be nice to Honey," Aiko stressed this point. "Honey is the most important person _in the world_ to Mori, so if you make Honey upset, Mori will follow right behind him and your chances of dating him are slim to none."

"Also, there are five other Hosts besides Mori and Honey," Shina added before I could protest. "You'll eventually meet them all, so there's no need to explain them. Also, there's also going to be lots of other girls in there, so don't be shy and try to talk to them to – if you can get their attention, that is." I nodded as she added, "I should warn you: the president of the club – Tamaki Suoh – tends to be . . . very energetic," I smiled at her word choice, "and tends to try and flirt with _every_ girl_._ It's what he does, so don't freak out if he tries to compliment you, alright?"

"Alright," I nodded, taking in all of the advice. "So basically, don't make Honey _or_ Mori upset, try to make friends with the googly-eyed girls who have enough time on their hands to harbor an obsession with pretty boys and don't get freaked out by the head Host if he tries to flirt with me." I summarized up their speech, and got approving nods – and laughs – from all three of them, even though Jinga hadn't offered any advice. "Okay, I'm ready." I reached for the door handles and pulled firmly, my mind racing with anticipation.

As the door opened, a warm chorus of 'Welcome!' rang out, and I saw the realm of the Host Club for the first time; the room was ornately decorated, with simple furnishings: roses in vases on various tables filled with girls in marshmallow dresses. A few chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving the room a soft boost of light while the large windows welcomed in a massive amount of sunshine to brighten the atmosphere. The smell of sweets - the one scent I could distinguish was of cake - was present, but not overpowering and the chatter between Hosts and girls filled the room with a soft buzz, interrupted by occasional shrieks of girly exclamations from the various tables. I could _feel_ the hormones in the air around me; almost every girl in the room was ensnared by one boy or another, their attentions completely captivated and, to be honest, it made me worry. _This is going to be interesting, _I thought, scanning the room.

As I continued my observations, the first boy I saw was a black-haired boy with glasses, with a business-type aura around him. My eyes next saw a couch overflowing with girls to crowd around a dramatic blonde boy (which I assumed was the Tamaki figure Shina had warned me about) and a simple, brown-haired boy serving tea to them. Farther towards the back was a table with two red-haired twins who seemed to be telling an animated story to the girls around them. Lastly, I saw Mori and Honey not far off from their table, and the two couches they occupied were unevenly distributed with girls; the majority of the girls there were surrounding Honey, while only one girl sat close to Mori. She actually rose as my attention was diverted to the black-haired boy, who adjusted his glasses as he approached us.

"Welcome, Ms. Sato, Ms. Yukari, and Ms. Yiruma, to the Ouran Host Club," he greeted my friends first, and then looked kindly to me. "And who might this be, if I may ask?"

"This is Talia Robinson; this is her first day ever to Ouran and to the Host Club," Shina explained, smiling dreamily at the boy. I looked to her, my eyes gleaming with mischief as she spoke. "Talia, this is Kyoya Ootori. He is vice-president of the Host Club." Shina continued, introducing him to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said, turning to him and bowing while smiling.

"No, Ms. Robinson, the pleasure is mine," Kyoya insisted, bowing slightly. "We hope you enjoy your first visit to the Ouran Host Club." He turned to greet a group of girls who had come in behind us when the brown-haired boy came up to us, carrying a small tray.

"Welcome, ladies," he said sweetly. "May I offer you some tea or cookies?"

"No, thank you," Jinga and I replied, but both Aiko and Shina took a couple cookies each.

As they did, I studied this particular boy. He was cute, yes, but there was something off about the way he looked. His face was softer than a boy's face should be, and his eyes, too, were rounder and softer. He moved more fluently, and I couldn't quite put a name on what was so different . . .

"Ms. Yiruma!" one of the red-headed boys called to Aiko, drawing me out of my thinking. "We've saved a seat for you!"

"Thanks! I'm coming!" she answered. She turned to me and winked, saying, "See ya!" before dashing off to where the boys waited. There went another poor soul into the depths of the sea of hormonal overload.

"I'm scheduled to see Kyoya right now, but I think you two know where Mori and Honey are," Shina said, looking over to where they were before turning and joining Kyoya with a few other girls. I took a deep breath, and – with a reassuring glance from Jinga – we turned to where Mori and Honey sat.

The girls surrounding them were mainly doting over Honey, as I had seen from the door, but a couple occasionally shot glances Mori's way. We walked up to them, and while Honey was busy talking I tapped Mori lightly on the shoulder. "Is there any room for us?" I asked sweetly, my heart felt lighter when Mori looked up, his eyes smiling.

"Of course," Mori said, gesturing next to him. "There's a seat here for you." I moved over to sit down next to him, ignoring some nasty stares from two particular girls sitting across from Mori, while Jinga took a seat next to me. It took me only seconds to recognize them as two of the girls who had attempted to rob me of my lunch money earlier this morning. Taking my mind off of them, I admired the softness of the couch, and wondered about the entirety of this whole Host Club idea that it wasn't until I heard Mori's voice that I turned to hear the majority of what he'd said.

" – was your first day at Ouran?" he inquired, looking to me.

"It wasn't half-bad, except for the whole gum incident," I shrugged, laughing. I noticed that Mori seemed to be silent studying what I did, as well as what Honey was doing as I continued. "Who was that girl? What did I do to make her want to gum my hair?"

"Just being you," Mori explained. "The girl was Chie Utada. She has an issue with anyone she deems possible to be better than she believes herself to be. Your singing must have scared her."

"_You're_ the girl that everyone's been talking about?" some of the girls sitting across from us looked up from Honey, their eyes wide, asked before I could respond to Mori's statement/compliment. "Everyone says that your singing is amazing!"

"Well, people do tend to over-exaggerate," I smiled shyly, but it was the two girls from the Gossip Squad that sent everyone silent.

"Of _course_ that's what people do. That's what _everybody_ does, right?" A black-haired, brown-eyed girl sneered, causing an irritating sensation to well up in my stomach. "You were ok, but there's no way you were as _amazing_ as everyone says you were_._" The girl smiled sickly sweet at me, as did the girl sitting next to her. "It was just an _enormous_ exaggeration."

"Be quiet, Ayaka," Jinga said, her voice growing hard as she jumped to my defense. I put my hand on her arm, looking to her and letting her know that _I _had this under control. She nodded slightly, and I turned my head back at the Gossip Squad members.

"There's no need to be snippy," I snapped quietly, causing them to grow as quiet as the rest of the crowd had been. "I said that I wasn't as good as people has been claiming, but I _am_ a talented singer, and I will not have you sit there and insult me to my face. Although," I smiled smartly as I continued, "I'm surprised you have the guts to be the way you are without your leader around. I thought it was sort of a hive thing – you know, monkey-see, monkey-do – but it turns out that you _do _have the capability to think for yourselves instead of being fakes _all _the time." The girls gasped slightly, but I wasn't done. "Now, why don't you use those brains of yours – no matter how small and undeveloped – and try not to do something stupid, like tick me off. And trust me, that's something you'd better hope to _never_ see." That sent the girls basically fleeing from the room, even though they walked out normally. I exhaled, scolding myself for doing that in front of everyone when the girls who had commented on my voice and Jinga applauded lightly, and everyone else – including Honey and Mori – watched me in stunned silence.

"I apologize that you had to see that," I told them all, smiling apologetically. "I usually don't get that way unless someone's desperately asking for it."

"Actually, we're glad you did," the girl who had spoken before smiled, and the girls around her nodded. "No one's ever stood up to them before, but you were wonderful; they left, didn't they?" The girls around her nodded again, and that same, annoying blush crept back onto my face whenever I received praise.

"Wow, Talia," Honey said, staring at me with wide brown eyes. "You can be really scary." I waited for the chorus of sad "Awwww!" and high-pitched reassurances to subside before I continued.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," I said, smiling softly. "But those two needed to be corrected. No need for them to ruin our time together, right?" The girls all nodded, as did Honey, but Mori still hadn't replied to anything I had said after my little outburst.

"So, how long have you been singing?" Jinga asked, quickly changing the subject. Everyone looked to me for an answer, and even Mori seemed to come back out of his thinking.

"I've always loved to sing, but I think I really got into it not too long ago," I replied, looking back to my past. "I've been taking lessons for the past two years, and I've been slightly advanced, so technically that would be . . . three years worth of lessons, I guess." I shrugged.

"So, you _have_ been singing for awhile? How interesting," the first girl – with black hair and equally dark eyes – commented, but as she glanced over at the clock, she frowned slightly. "I apologize, but I must be on my way." She rose from her seat, and as she turned to leave she said a soft goodbye to Honey and her friends on the couch. I was sort of surprised that she said nothing to Mori, who didn't seemed miffed at all by it. I was about to ask Mori something before Kyoya's voice rang through the room.

"Attention, everyone: the Host Club will be open for another hour; then, sadly, we ask that you return home for the evening." Scattered sighs of disappointment softly rose, but the girls were soon re-absorbed with whichever boy they were visiting and I directed my attention back to Mori.

"So, how long have you been in the Host Club?" I asked him.

"Since it first started," he responded. "Tamaki asked Mitzkuni and I if we wanted to join, and Mitzkuni said he wanted to. So, I joined as well."

"You didn't join because you wanted to?" I frowned slightly. "Was it only for Honey?" Mori paused, seeming to ponder what I had asked.

"No," he finally answered. "I don't think it was." He didn't say anything after that, only watching Honey for the rest of the time. I tried not to let my disappointment show, but I did frown slightly.

I glanced at the clock, which read 4:30; since Mori was apparently done talking for today, I rose carefully from the couch.

"I'm afraid I have to leave now," I told the group. "I have many things to do before the day ends."

"You're leaving?" Honey asked, looking sadly at me. The same, sad "Awwww!" arose as I looked to him.

"Yes, but I will see if I can return tomorrow for awhile, alright?" I suggested, and his face lit up happily.

"Yay! That would be fantastic!" He jumped around slightly, and Jinga and the other girls squirmed, giggling to no end. _Good grief._ I thought, growing slightly irritated with all of the giggling and googly-eyes.

"Sounds great," I smiled, passing Honey and stopping at the end of the couch. "See you later?" I asked Mori, smiling at him as well. He looked slowly up at me, and he nodded slightly. "See you tomorrow, Jinga," I waved at Jinga, and after she waved back I headed for the door. As I walked by the couch with Tamaki and about a hundred girls lounging on it, he called to me as I approached.

"Hello, my dear," he smiled, sounding suave and calm. "How did you enjoy your visit to our little club?"

"I very much enjoyed," I told him, my stomach churning at the sight of the throng of girls around him giggling like the others had, only it was a hundred times worse.

"Are you planning on coming back tomorrow?"

"More than likely, yes," I nodded. _Shina was right; he _is_ weird,_ I thought.

"The Host Club will be waiting for you until then, my princess," he smiled again. Various sighs arose, and all I could make out before fleeing was, "Lucky!" and "He's _soooo_ dreamy!" I inched away from the massive glob of hormone overloaded girls and the beautiful, brainless blonde boy. As I approached the door, I was stopped yet again, this time by Kyoya and the brown-haired boy.

"Are you leaving us for today?" Kyoya asked.

"Yes, I am," I smiled sadly. "I have many things to do before the day is done."

"Thank you for coming, ma'am," the brown-haired boy smiled, and I smiled back. The same nagging feeling returned; there was something about this boy that was more . . . _feminine;_ that's the word I was looking for. This boy seemed a lot more girlish than the other boys.

"Thank you for having me," I smiled back, going to let my curiosity take a back seat for today. "I'll see if I can make it back tomorrow, but you know how it is; so much to do in so little time."

"Of course," he smiled, and I had to shove my curiosity back down. This guy _really_ looked like a girl now, but no one else seemed to notice. "See you then!"

"See you then . . . I'm sorry." I apologized. "I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Oh," he smiled, "my name's Haruhi Fujioka." I nodded, my curiosity becoming harder to keep back.

"See you then, Haruhi," I smiled, and then turned and left the Host Club feeling happy and confused at the same time. As I made my way to the front of the school, I thought about my first experience with the Host Club. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but my skin still slightly crawled at the sight of drooling girls. I called for the same car that drove me to school to drop me off, and it wasn't long before I was on my way back home, sitting in the back of the car and thinking about Mori, of all things.

_Did he really only join for Honey? _I wondered, watching the scenery flash by absentmindedly. _Or was he telling the truth when he said he didn't know?_ I continued to ponder as we reached my house, and as we pulled up and I said goodbye to the driver, I shoved the image of Mori to the back of my mind. I had things to do today, and I wasn't going to let the tall, dark, handsome, silent Host boy disturb my concentration. Little did I know, that was going to prove to be a lot harder than I thought it would.


	4. Chapter 4

I arrived at home, seeing a note on our dinky little dining table from my mom, saying that she would be working late again that night and would be home around ten. She had made me some sandwiches – which the note indicated were residing in our mini-fridge – and that she had left something in my room for me. With all her love, she had signed the little note in a hurry, her name a barely legible squiggle.

Deciding to leave the sandwich until later, I went to my room to discover what my surprise was. I was thrilled to see three medium-sized piles of clothing on my bed when I entered the room; a pile of various t-shirts and tank tops; some plain colors and some with my favorite anime characters/logos on them (mostly from Fullmetal Alchemist and Dragon Ball Z; ranking a very loud "YEESSS!" on my happiness meter), a pile of jeans and shorts – ranging from black to navy blue to grey to white (earning a 'Cool') – and a pile of hoodies; one was red with the Fullmetal Alchemist Flamel Cross on the back (scoring 'Squeal of Joy' on my happiness meter) and the other a black zip-up with Inu-Yasha on the back and the logo on the front (another 'Squeal of Joy'). On top of each pile was an various accessory; on the hoodie pile was a red beanie cap with a black Flamel Cross on the front of it, on the jeans pile was a yellow Pikachu hat with floppy Pikachu ears, and on the t-shirt pile was a watch; the face ringed with aqua with matching arms and numbers emboldening a basic black background.

I scoured every pile, thankful for the glorious alternative to the marshmallow I had been trapped in _all stinking day._ I quickly changed into a pair of navy blue jean capris, a black FMA tank with the logo on it, the red FMA hoodie and I also slipped into some cozy black flats (which were hiding at the end of the bed with some Pikachu slippers and World Industries shoes from home) before strapping on my new watch.

After admiring my snazzy new outfit in my wall mirror beside my closet (where everything else had been put away semi-neatly while my uniform had been bunched up and chucked into a corner) I quickly went into the kitchen and decided to eat one of the yummy bologna and cheese sandwiches at the table; I would leave the rest for later. Once I finished, I decided to crack open a can of Pepsi and filled a glass a quarter of the way full with crushed ice. I carefully poured the soda on top until the fizz reached the rim of the glass. I sat at the table, sipping from the fizz every so often and continuing to do so until the entire can had been emptied into the glass, and I threw the can away before reaching a problem.

Seeing as I had nowhere else to be today - my workplace's main loading center had been unexpectedly flooded, giving me a week off of work - I could either slack off and watch some television (with my luck, there was probably some re-run of Fullmetal Alchemist on) or head off into my room and finish what little homework I had left from school. Whatever I decided, it was most assuredly going to turn out with me being bored soon after resolving to do either. _Why is it always _my_ house that ends up being the most boring?_ I thought to myself, picking up my beverage and heading for my school bag. Homework was more important, and I knew if my grades ended up horribly, my mom would kill me _and_ I'd probably be expelled from Ouran, and that would _definitely_ suck.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, ambling back to my bedroom and sinking onto the bed. Once comfortable, I fished through my bag and pulled out my homework after setting my drink on the floor; the beds here were _unbelievably_ close to the floor, and I could reach down easily without fear of knocking it over. I also set up my mini speaker system - which I couldn't leave home without - and put in my iPod, selecting some calming songs from Yiruma to help me concentrate. I quickly got down to business, taking my time on my homework and _still_ completing it way too fast. English, Chemistry, and Algebra 2 posed no problem for me; I had a slight set-back during my Drafting homework, seeing as I blanked on how to measure properly. Physical Education didn't require homework, and neither did my Culinary class. Choir was simple; I had found a version of the song we were singing online and had downloaded it onto my iPod, listening to it and singing along.

As I put away my completed homework, I stumbled across my drawing folder, and an idea appeared out of nowhere. _Oh yeah!_ I remembered, pulling it out. _I still have to finish that drawing for Susana!_ Susana Rose is my little sister, and her eighth birthday was coming up soon: on the 23rd of September, which was a . . . Saturday? Friday? I didn't remember, but I decided didn't matter. So long as I finished the drawing and sent it to her before the 23rd, I'd be set.

I studied the picture, noticing how I had drawn the frame. The person was turned slightly away, as though trying to turn another direction. I began lightly sketching around it, and it ended up as a girl sitting on a playground swing, smiling. I drew the girl in a hoodie, and I also drew a puppy, standing on its hind legs so that its fore paws rested on the girl's knees as the girl looked down at it. It wasn't long before I finished the drawing that our telephone rang, and I left my room quickly to wait for the phone to send the call to the answering machine.

My mom's always been really strict about our safety, my siblings' and mine. We're never allowed to answer the door or the telephone while she and Dad are gone, so it's a habit that I've never tried to break. As the message relays, it turns out that it's Shina. I answer it, cautiously answering, "Shina?"

"Oh, hey there, Talia!" she answered sweetly, acting like this was totally normal. "How are you?"

"I'm . . . great," I respond, trying to match her cheeriness. "Um . . . how are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you," Shina kept on, as though it wasn't strange at all that _I_ didn't give her my phone number, yet she was still calling me. "I wanted to as you about . . ."

"Shina," I interrupted her, wincing. "I hate to interrupt you, but . . . how on earth did you get my phone number?"

"What?" Shina seemed confused that I had asked at first, but then she laughed. "Oh, that! Well, my mother works as a secretary at Ouran, and I asked her to look your number up for me. I had something to ask you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, smiling slightly. "And what is so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" I laughed. "Is there an all important 'New Student Meeting' I'm supposed to attend?"

"No, nothing like that," Shina giggled. "The Host Club is having a party this weekend, and I was wondering if Mori invited you yet."

"Why would Mori invite me to a party that has nothing to do with me?"

"Oh, Talia," Shina sighed; it sounded like she was truly disappointed. "Are you really that objected to dating Mori?"

"What? No!" I protested, but then realized what I'd said. "I mean . . . not really, no . . . what does that have to do with anything?" I stammered, flustered.

Shina laughed, and I ground my teeth together. "You're so _cute, _Talia! Are you _sure_ that you don't like Mori like that?"

"About this party," I said quickly, not really wanting to go on about Mori, "when is it?"

"It's this weekend at the Hitachiin brothers' beach house. It's right on the shore of Hantsuki Bay, which is about an hour away from Ouran. There's going to be a bonfire and everything! Why wouldn't you want to come?"

"Isn't it a might cold for a bonfire?" I asked, looking outside at the half-red, half-green leaves of our tiny maple tree in our front lawn.

"It's the last warm burst of the summer, so the weather supposed to be _perfect_." Shina insisted. "If Mori doesn't invite you, then you could come with Aiko, Jinga and I, right? _Please?_"

I sighed, knowing that there was probably no way to wiggle my way out of this. "If my mom allows, then sure, I think I can make it." I instinctively yanked the phone away from my ear just as Shina squealed loudly. _Good gracious,_ I thought, shaking my head and smiling. _It's just a party!_ "What time do I have to be at the school?" I asked, cautiously returning the phone back to my ear.

"Oh, yay!" Shina cheered. "All you have to do is stay after school, and we all leave right after the Host Club is done for the day. They've also offered to drive anyone over there that doesn't have transportation of their own, so maybe you could ride over with them."

"I'll make sure to ask, but I'm not promising _anything_," I stressed, my head shaking again. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about while you've got my attention?"

"Oh, yeah! I had a couple questions on our Algebra homework . . ." Shina and I ended up talking for awhile, discussing homework for at least two hours. I glanced at the clock every once in awhile, eager to get back to work on Susana's drawing but not wanting to be rude to Shina at the same time. Shina, I soon learned, was really smart; she had brought up several points about the homework that I didn't even notice, and we talked about several things, ranging from Algebra to Chemistry.

When I glanced at the clock again, the numbers had drastically changed; it was now 6:41, and my rumbling stomach signaled that I should probably eat the rest of those sandwiches. I decided to hold out for a little longer, and it wasn't until Shina gasped on the other end that my stomach let out a persistent bellow, and I held back an embarrassed laugh.

"It's already six?!" Shina asked, more to herself than to me. "Oh, I'm sorry Talia, but I have to go now. Dinner will start any moment now."

"That's totally fine, Shina," I smiled. "You go eat; I was planning to the same thing not too long ago. See you tomorrow."

"See you!" Shina said, and the line soon went dead. I placed the phone back in its cradle on the wall, and I invaded the fridge for the rest of my sandwiches and this time a glass milk. Once seated at the table, I flipped on the television, scanning between bites of sandwich and found a re-run of Pokémon. I watched the current Gym Battle with half-interest, finishing my meal quickly and running to my room to bring Susana's drawing back to the table, and I darkened the outline with my super-fancy manga markers; I _loved_ my super-fancy manga markers. Once I had finished that, I ended up putting my drawing carefully away and curling up on our mini-loveseat, covering up with one of my mom's handmade afghans. I admired the soft, pastel colors before turning my attention back to the television, and it wasn't long after that I dozed off; the last thing I saw was Ash victoriously hold up _another_ Gym Badge, and I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

"Talia? Talia, wake up," My body was shaking gently, and my eyes opened part of the way to see my mom standing over me. "You need to get to bed, honey. It's almost 10:30." She moved off to the kitchen as I stretched, swinging my legs over and unearthing myself from the afghan.

"Did you just get home?" I half-yawned, rising from the loveseat and sitting at the table.

"Yes, I did," she nodded, her face in the fridge. "How was your day?"

"Kind of boring," I admitted as she pulled out her own little dinner and came over to the table. "I made progress on Susana's birthday present. I just have to color it, and I'll be done."

"That's wonderful, dear," my mom smiled, quietly tucking into her tiny meal.

"How was your day?" I asked, watching her eat.

"It was fine," she shrugged, but I frowned. That wasn't a good answer. Mom usually smiled when she answered, but today her face remained emotionless. I decided not to press the matter.

"I actually had something to ask you," I absentmindedly began drawing circles on the table with my finger, and my mom looked up momentarily from her meal. "There's supposed to be a bonfire tomorrow at a friend's house about an hour from the school," I began, not wanting to look at my mom's expression, "and I was wondering if I could go to it? I'd be home by ten, I _promise_, and I also thought it'd be a good way to meet some new people; you know, mingle with my new classmates."

"Did a boy ask you to this party?" I laughed slightly at her question, and shook my head. "Are there going to be adults supervising the party?" At this I cringed; this could kill my whole chance of going.

"I do not know, to be honest," I glanced at her, and her face gave nothing away. _Darn for moms having great poker faces,_ I thought, looking back to my finger, which had switched to drawing a repetitive squiggle back and forth. "I promise to behave, though. I know what to do and what _not_ to do."

"I know you do," my mom sighed quietly. She stared at her dinner, and my heart tightened in worry. _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. _The thought repeated over and over; perhaps I could telepathically persuade her to let me go. My mom sighed again, this time smiling. "I suppose if you _swear_ to be back by ten and don't get into any trouble, I don't mind if you go."

"YEEESSS!" My fist shot to my side, my heart bursting with joy. "I promise I'll be good, Mom! I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't," she laughed. "Now, get to bed, or I _just_ might change my mind. I sprang up from my chair, and - with a quick kiss on the top of her head and an equally fast goodnight - I ran to my room, switched into my sleeping boxers and an old tank top, snuggling deep into the covers. My mind raced with anticipation; even if Mori didn't _personally_ asked me to go to the party, I was going to have a _fantastic _time with Aiko, Shina, and Jinga. I fell asleep, dreaming of the possible scenarios that tomorrow would bring for me.


	5. Chapter 5

Just for a brief note, I wanted to thank the user Bleep for their input. (Seeing as I'm unable to message them, I'll post it here.) I will attempt to cut back on some detailing. I also appreciate the positive feedback and numerous views from everybody! I do not know how many chapters I will be doing in total, but I'm definitely a long way from done! Thank you very much for reading and critiquing my work!

May God bless!

-MJS

The next day arrived quickly, and without any complaint I had jumped into my clown suit and headed to the kitchen a whole half and hour earlier than I had to. My mom was sitting on the loveseat, reading a book when I walked into the living room.

"Good morning, Talia," she greeted, peering at me over her aqua reading glasses. "Why are you up so early, sweetie?"

"Couldn't sleep," I shrugged, heading into the refrigerator for some milk and the cupboard for a bowl and some brand of Japanese Cheerios. I had just begun to pour the milk when my mom began to speak again.

"Is this about that party you asked to go to last night?" I had situated myself at the table with my back turned to my mom. Being so, she didn't see my wince or my fist tighten around the cereal box when she asked. "You seem . . . rather excited about going. What's so special about this party than the other ones that you were invited to at home?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning to look at her. She had bookmarked her place and was watching me.

"I understand that you like the new friends that you've made here," she said softly, "but I've also noticed a change in you." My stomach clenched as she continued, "I've often seen you daydreaming; more often than usual, that is. You also talk more about this Host Club that you've decided to be apart of than of regular school, and when you realize you're doing so, you snap to a different subject as quickly as you can. Why is that, Talia?"

_Because I'm slowly falling for a guy that is probably never going to like me back when I should be focusing on school and other things;_ this was the thought that came to mind, but I simply answered, "I don't know." I shoveled cereal into my mouth, hoping that she would stop asking questions. And she did, for a time, until I had finished the whole bowl and moved to the sink to deposit it.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it now," my mom said softly, and I set my dishes in sink harder than necessary. "But always remember that I'm here for you, Talia. You can tell me anything."

"Yeah, Mom; I know," I answered, trying to drop the conversation by staring out of the window at the graying sky. It wasn't until the soft rustle of pages alerted me that she had gone back to reading, but my heart also tightened when I heard her soft sigh of pity before that. I turned and headed back to my room, not looking at her as I went by.

I sped to my room, slamming the slider shut and beginning to frequently pace in an uneven circle around the room. _What is the matter with me?_ I thought desperately, shaking my head and running my fingers through my hair in frustration. I _never_ acted that way around my mom; as in _never ever._ She and I always communicated well – I've never had a problem telling her what was on my mind – but for some odd reason, I had strongly resented the fact that she had noticed a change in my behavior. I continued pacing for some time, rather upset with myself, when I forced myself to stop and attempt to think rationally.

_Whatever it is, it needs to stop,_ I decided, inhaling deeply through my nose and exhaling sharply through my mouth. There was nothing in this whole world that should be able to keep me from talking with my mom, even if I was acting like a total child about nothing. _I have to go apologize,_ was the thought that immediately followed my decision. I glanced hurriedly at my clock, which read 6:05. _Crap._

I rushed out of my room, and in a short burst, I saw the empty loveseat and my mom's book resting on the arm. I rushed to the front door, seeing a flash of my mom's dirty blonde hair as I burst out the door.

"Mom!" I called, and thankfully she stopped quickly, turning to see me. I ran to her, saying, "Mom, I'm sorry for all of that earlier. I don't know why I was so snippy, but I was wrong to act like that. It was totally immature of me."

"It's alright, Talia. Of course I forgive you," she smiled, and a heavy weight instantly lifted from my chest. "I also think I know _why_ you've been acting differently – notice I said _different_ and not _strangely_ – but whenever you're ready to tell me yourself, I'll be here." She took me into a hug, and I returned it firmly, still slightly confused by what she had said. We released each other, and she turned back to her bike. As she straddled it, she asked, "What time are you supposed to be home tonight?"

"Ten o'clock," I answered.

"What are you supposed to do at the party?"

"Play nicely with the other kids, be on my best behavior, and thank the Hitachiins for allowing me to come to the party."

"And what are you _not _supposed to do?" My mom turned towards me, her bike ready to roll and her eyes on me.

"Go anywhere _near _alcohol, stray from the grounds and start a fight. But I promise that I _will_ finish it if someone _else_ starts it," I answered with a smile, and my mom returned it with a smile of her own.

"Very good; I have to go now, but I'll probably see you tonight when you get home." I walked over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek, and she gave me one on my forehead. "I love you, Talia. Don't forget!"

"I love you too, Mom, and I'll never forget." I waved as she pedaled off, and she waved back quickly before pedaling out onto the road and wheeling out of sight. I headed back into the house to get ready for my day, a smile on my face.

My cheery mood continued to be with me throughout the morning; I packed a spare black tank top with matching jean capris along with my simple black bikini into a plastic bag and shoved it into my school bag. It wasn't long after that the designated chauffeur pulled up next to our house, and I quickly walked out of the house, smiling brightly. On the way to school, I actually talked to the chauffeur today - his name is actually Mr. Mushigi - and he seemed pleased that I actually took an interest in his own life. We talked about various things - ranging from his family to his other job as a janitor - and I was happy to see him smiling as he dropped me off at the school and went on his way. As I went up the steps, I saw Shina running to me.

"So?" She asked immediately, not bothering to greet me. "Can you go to the party or not?"

"Yes, I can go," I laughed, and Shina clapped her hands happily as I finished, "so long as I return home by ten."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Shina shrugged. "So long as you get to go, it's going to be _fantastic!_" She grabbed my wrist and led me off, and I attempted to regain my balance while following.

"Where are you taking me?" I laughed, attempting to stop and fix the arrangement of books as not to drop them.

"To tell Aiko and Jinga!" Shina explained, allowing a rather brief stop as I shifted my chemistry book. "They're probably wondering whether you can go or not as well!"

"That doesn't mean-"

"Oh, just come on!" Shina sighed, grabbing my wrist again and this time not letting me stop to catch up. We eventually found Aiko and Jinga hanging out by a water fountain, and when they saw us approach they immediately asked the same question Shina had.

"Oh, Talia! You're here!" Aiko cheered, turning to face my captor and I. "Can you go to the Host Club's party tonight?"

"Please say you can!" Jinga chimed in, clasping her hands together.

"I-"

"She can!" Shina beat me to the punch, and I silently sighed at their expressions as they all giggled with excitement. _It's a party!_ I thought, ignoring the fact my heart fluttered every time I _did_ think about the party.

"I have to be home by ten," I reminded/informed them, but no one seemed to care. I dropped it, knowing to try and distract from them from the reoccurring topic of the party would be pointless. The girls didn't get to gab about it for very long, however, as the warning bell rang and sent us off to our classes. Aiko and I managed to slip into class just before the bell rang and began our countdown for the final bell.

Even though she doesn't have Jinga or Shina to talk about the party with, Aiko still attempts to persuade me into talking about it. The thought of this morning entered my mind, and at first I resisted. But Aiko can be _very_ persuasive. I finally tell her what my swimsuit looks like, and she explains to me what her suit looks like when I hear a sharp, familiar voice scoff behind us.

"Swimsuits? Why on earth would _you_ be talking about swimsuits? Could it be possible that you _losers_ were lucky enough to be included on the Host Club's party list?" Chie is lounging behind us, and her cronies all huddle around her, laughing softly.

"Yes, Chie, we are going to the party," I answered evenly, not wanting to start an argument _today_ of all days. "Are you going?"

"Of course I'm going," she scoffed again. "Anyone who's _somebody_ will be going to the party. Attending a Host Club party symbolizes your status in the school, and I'm surprised they're allowing an _American_ attend."

"Did you hear that, Aiko?" I looked to my friend, frowning slightly. "It sounded like someone tried to tell a joke, but only the people who are too afraid to stand up for themselves laughed." Aiko snickered, and I heard mutters coming from the Gossip Squad.

"You're right, Talia; I think I heard it, but it was awful soft to be heard by anyone else." Aiko nodded, glancing back at Chie the same time I did. Her face was beginning to turn red, and I turned as far as I could without moving the lower half of my body and placed my arms on the back of my chair.

"Look, Chie," I began, looking at her directly. "I don't know why you seem to have an issue with _everybody, _but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your bad attitude to yourself. No one here wants to hear what you think is wrong with the world; I know, why you don't talk about it with your 'friends' . . . if that's what you even call them." The girls around her gasped slightly, and I smiled politely. "Now, please keep your opinions to yourself." I turned back to the front of the class as Mr. Yirashima called the class to attention, and I felt pleased with my response to Chie. I didn't start the argument, but I _definitely_ finished it.

The rest of the class went smoothly without any other commentary from Chie and her followers; we continued to practice the same song we had received at the beginning of the year and not much else. Aiko seemed greatly relieved when the bell rang to send us off to our second class, but I just kept quiet, attempting to shove the fluttering feeling in my stomach back down to wherever it came from.

The rest of the school day was indeed pleasant yet uneventful. As the day progressed, more and more people continued to talk about the bonfire party. At lunch, the cafeteria was buzzing with excitement, although the few Hosts that shared that lunch period - Kyoya and Tamaki - seemed rather complacent about the whole thing. I noticed that girls were pestering them about the party, but they simply smiled and returned the questions with equally simple answers. Everyone else, despite the Hosts nonchalant attitudes, were getting more amped by the minute.

Soon, I headed into my fifth class of the day - usually I would be the first/second student there - and took my seat at the back of the room. I pulled out my drawing for Susana, which desperately begged for color. I had colored the skin and completely shaded it in a previous hour, but now my attention was turned to the hair. I pulled out a yellow and brown colored pencil, lightly shading with the yellow pencil first. Once completed, I used the brown pencils to add darker tones and highlights to the hair. As I did, soft footsteps approached my desk.

"So, what are we learning today?" I asked in English, assuming that it was my teacher. "You know, I could _really_ go for something a little more challenging today. Perhaps something new?"

"Hello, Talia." The deep, male voice that answered in Japanese alerted me that I was not talking to whom I _thought_ I was talking to. I glanced up expectantly - while attempting to control the embarrassed blush that crept across my face - to see Mori looming above me. He was smiling, and I swallowed nervously, regaining my ability to speak.

"Oh, hi Mori," I smiled, switching back to Japanese. "Sorry about that; I thought you were my teacher."

"It's alright." He shrugged slightly, and I sat up. "May I join you?"

"Uh . . ." I glanced around the room; the teacher for the other students wasn't in the room, so everybody had begun to talk among themselves. "Sure." I answered, smiling. "Don't you guys have a class today too?"

"I thought so." Mori explained, sitting down across from me. "Our teacher doesn't seem to be here though."

"Nope," I agreed, itching to return to my drawing. "She seems to have taken an unplanned absence." I instinctively looked down at my drawing, lightly shading in more brown into an area I thought could use it.

"Who are you drawing?" Mori brought be back to reality, and I kept my eyes on the paper as I answered him.

"This is supposed to look like my little sister, Susanna. Her birthday's coming up soon, and I wanted to send her something special."

"That's very kind of you. When is her birthday?"

"On the 23rd. She'll be eight yet dying to be nine." I laughed, and Mori laughed briefly with me. His laugh was soft, yet it was powerful nonetheless. I felt butterflies rise in my stomach, but shoved them back. _Stop it._ I scolded myself, trading my yellow and brown pencils for blue and purple ones.

"How long have you been drawing like that?"

"Ever since I was Susanna's age." I paused, looking up at him. "I've always been fascinated with anime; it's a part of your culture that is so influential in the rest of the world . . . I think it's amazing."

"Thanks," Mori smiled slightly, turning his attention back to my drawing. "You're very good at it; I don't think I could come anywhere close to that."

"Have you ever tried?"

"No," he shook his head. "I've never had time."

My lips pursed slightly, and I reached into the left pocket of my drawing folder, taking out a blank sheet of paper. "Would you like to try now?" I held it out to him, grabbing his attention. "It's really not that hard once you get started." He seemed hesitant, so I laid it down in front of him, saying, "You don't have to, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" I turned back to my own drawing, beginning to color the jeans on the girl when I heard Mori's confused voice.

"What do I do?" he asked, looking to me for help. I looked into his eyes, and they seemed disappointed, almost.

"Here," I decided quickly to put away Susanna's drawing and pulled out my own clean sheet. "Try and copy what I do. Let's start of with eyes; those are pretty simple." I began with the top of the eye - the lashes - and I paused while Mori attempted to copy it on his own paper. We sat that way - I carefully explained what I did as to make it easier for him - for awhile, and it wasn't long before we had both completed our own sets of two eyes. Mori's weren't half-bad; they were slightly uneven and one was larger than the other, but they still looked like eyes.

"How did I do?" he asked, studying what he had drawn before looking to me.

"That's fantastic, Mori." I complimented. "That's a very good starting point. Just a few touch-ups here and there, and you could be a manga artist!" I laughed, and Mori laughed with me. "Basically, the only way to get better is to practice and to have something to go off of. Here," I quickly sketched the rest of the face, creating a basic head easily. "You can take this to practice with, if you'd like. I don't need another practice sheet." Mori seemed pleased that I had offered the sheet to him, smiling at me. I forced the butterflies to stay in whatever place they liked to originate from.

"Thank you," Mori said softly, and once he folded the papers up and put them in his jacket pocket, he changed the subject to the one thing that seemed to have the whole school on edge. "Have you heard about the party tonight at Hantsuki Bay?"

"I have. It seems to be the only thing anybody can talk about today." I smiled. "Aiko, Shina, and Jinga are absolutely thrilled about it."

"What about you? What do you think?"

The question caught me off-guard. "Well," I began, not knowing really how to answer, "I think it sounds like fun; I've never really been to a party before, but my mom gave me permission to go to this one."

"That's great," Mori nodded, sounding rather excited. "Would you . . ." he trailed off, as though refraining from completing his sentence.

"What? Would I do what?" I encouraged him.

"Would you . . . mind hanging out with me . . . at the party?" He eventually finished his sentence, and my chest soared with happiness. _He asked me to hang out with him!_ I thought, a small part of me amazed at how dumb I was acting. I slowly recovered, and nodded.

"I'd love to hang out with you at the party, Mori. That sounds like fun." I accepted, and I swear his eyes lit up with happiness, causing me to light up as well.

"Thank you," he said, smiling. Before he could say anything else, the bell rang, and we both didn't seem to notice. We rose from the table, and Mori went to gather his things. I cleaned up my stuff and headed to the door; Mori caught up quickly as we walked out the door together.

"I'll meet you in the music room later, okay?" I suggested. "We can head to the party from there, right?"

"Yes," Mori nodded, standing near the door to wait for Honey. "I'll see you there."

"See you there." With a final smile, I walked off to where Aiko and Shina waited. They told me that Jinga had gone home sick - something about small food poisoning - but I was only half-listening. My mind was still absorbed with the fact that Mori had asked me to go to the party with him. Aiko and Shina sensed my out-of-character mood, but it wasn't until our last class was over that I told them all that had occurred during my fifth class. They squealed with delight, all excited for me, and our cheery mood followed us to the doors of the music room. When we opened the door, however, the mood vanished.

To my dismay, Mori was not alone on the couch; next to him sat Chie, and when she spotted me, the look that she shot at me would have killed me then and there if it could. _Oh crap,_ I thought, worry beginning to settle. _Not today!_


	6. Chapter 6

Another quick sidenote: I've been debating on possibly doing the same kind of story for some of the other Hosts; possibly Kyoya and the twins. What do you guys think? Please leave a review/PM me with your opinions! Thanks!

-MJS

"Welcome, ladies," Haruhi greeted us, smiling ever so nicely as he stood by the door with his usual cookies-and-tea tray. "Will you be joining us for the bonfire party this evening?"

"We plan to, yes," Shina answered, and Aiko nodded; I, however, was too busy observing Chie and Mori on the couch to reply. "We are very excited for it!"

"You're going to be there too, aren't you, Haruhi?" Aiko asked, and I unwillingly turned my attention back to him.

"Yes, I am. All of the Hosts will be there, and we're all very excited for our first party of the school year."

"Do you know the reason why they plan parties so early?" I asked, desperate to distract myself. "It's only the second day of the school year; isn't that a little too early?"

"I thought so at first," Haruhi laughed, nodding, "but I really don't have much say in those kinds of decisions. Those decisions are usually made by Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-senpai."

"Interesting," I smiled, wanting to ask more before I heard my name. I turned to see Mori waving slightly to me, and I turned back to Haruhi. "I'd love to talk about it some more, but Mori wants to see me."

"Enjoy your visit," Haruhi nodded in farewell, and turned his attention back to Aiko and Shina. I walked calmly over to Mori, not wanting to seem in a hurry.

"Hello, Talia!" Chie greeted, a large, syrupy-sweet smile plastered on her face to match her equally-sweet sounding facade. "How are you?"

"I'm well," I answered politely. "And you?"

"Mori-senpai and I were just talking about the bonfire and how _amazing_ it's going to be. Isn't that right, Mori?" Chie looked to Mori sweetly, and I had to refrain from smiling as I saw the same irritation inside of me welling up inside of him. Mori simply nodded in reply, and when he glanced my way, I shot an apologetic look at him. He returned it with a subtle look of his own.

"So you are going to the party as well?" I asked Chie, determined to be polite even though I felt like tearing her away from Mori's side as I sat down on the couch across from them.

"Of course I am," Chie giggled, and I attempted to giggle with her. It sounded forced, but Chie didn't notice as she continued to babble. "I would be _crazy_ to miss the first Host Club party of the year! They're always _soooo_ much fun; I'm surprised that you're going, though." Her voice hardened, which in turn made me stiffen. "You know, being an _American_ and all; so unfamiliar with how the way things work around here."

"It's only a party," I retorted, sitting on my clenched fists to try and release my anger. "It can't be so much different here than back home that I'm not _able_ to go. It's a party whether here or in France or back home; they all have the same purpose."

"Of course it is," Chie replied, and I swore I saw Mori tense in my peripheral vision as she spoke. "I didn't mean to upset you, Tali-chan."

"Please don't call me that," I interrupted my eyes narrowing. "I'm not your friend, Chie, and I don't plan on becoming your friend either. You've been absolutely nothing but rude and self-centered since I've met you, and there's not a thing in the _world_ that would drive me to becoming friends with you. Not unless you decide to change your attitude and the way you treat others around you." Chie's face began to turn red, and I simply looked to Mori. "Well, Mori, is there any special surprises at the party that will happen? Or do you have to keep them secret?"

"I'm afraid that there will be some surprises, but I can't tell you about them," Mori answered. "You'll just have to wait for the surprises to reveal themselves." I pretend to pout, causing him to smile.

"Well, if I have to," I joked, and I was about to ask another question when Chie stood up, glancing at what I assumed was the clock behind me.

"I'm afraid I have to leave now," she announced, turning to Mori and smiling. "See you at the party, Mori." Mori nodded in return, and then Chie began to walk away. As she did, she hissed at me, "Watch yourself, Robinson," before heading off on her way. I stiffened, but acted like she had said nothing otherwise. I listened to her footsteps fade away, and once they were gone I looked to Mori, hoping I could switch to a topic of conversation that would distract me from what Chie had said.

"Will you come sit by me?" Mori spoke up before I could, however, and I simply nodded before moving over and taking Chie's previous seat. Once I was situated, Mori's voice lowered to an almost inaudible whisper. "What did she say to you?"

"She didn't -"

"I saw you tense up," he whispered fiercely, cutting me off, "so she must have said _something._ Please, tell me."

I was too shocked by his attitude to protest further, so I answered, "She told me to watch myself. But I don't think she'll really do anything. Not at the party, at least." I tagged that last part on quickly as Mori stiffened as I had, trying to reassure him.

"Well, I _do_ think she would do something, especially at the party," Mori argued, his eyes focused on something out in space as he spoke. Before I could say anything else, he quickly whispered, "You have to promise to not do anything risky at the party tonight. I don't care if you hang out with your friends or with me, but _be careful." _I opened my mouth to protest, but he kept going. "Chie is very tricky; she'll try to harm you when you least expect it." I attempted to protest again, but Mori's tone and gaze silenced me. "Please? Do you promise?" His tone was desperate, and his eyes were wild with worry and anger.

"I promise," I finally gave in, sighing slightly. "I'll try and convince the girls to hang out near you so you don't have to worry." His eyes instantly calmed, but I couldn't quite put a name on the feeling that replaced the worry. "Do you feel better now?" I smiled slightly, and received a small nod.

"Hey, Talia; Mori." Shina and Aiko had walked over, so Mori went silent. I shoved my own feelings of unease away as I smiled at them. "Talking about the party?"

"We were, actually," I laughed. "Would you guys mind if we hung out with Mori and Honey? I think it'll be a lot of fun, don't you?" I looked at them pleadingly, and they seemed to catch my note of urgency.

"Sure, that sounds great!" Shina agreed, and Aiko nodded with her. "That would be really cool!" Their looks seemed filled with giddy happiness, but I ignored it; I would tell them about my predicament when we got to the party.

"It's settled then," Mori nodded, and no sooner had he spoke Honey appeared with his personal mob of fan-girls. They all were giggling nonstop, all waiting in earnest for Honey's next cute moment. He settled into the couch across from us, and the girls all formed a clump around him. I felt slightly for him, but the smile on his face and his never-ending cheery attitude assured me that he didn't mind as much as I would have. We all talked excitedly about the party, and it wasn't long before Tamaki's voice sounded through the room, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Attention, honored guests and fellow Hosts," he began, raising his arms up. "I am pleased to announce that we will be leaving for Hantsuki Bay in about ten minutes. Please ready by then; if you need transportation, please talk to the Host nearest you for more information. Thank you for your time." With that, he was mobbed by girls on all sides, as were all of the Hosts, it seemed. Even Mori had some girls come up to him, but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I only have room for Mitzkuni and three others." Some of the girls sighed in disappointment, but I was planning to take another mode of transportation myself when his voice surprised me. "Talia, would you care to join us?" I glanced up, and he looked expectantly at me.

"Uh . . . sure, if you want me to," I shrugged, attempting to hide the happiness that began to well up inside of me. "I don't mind." Thankfully, Aiko was also chosen to come with us, as well as one of Honey's followers. Shina went to go ask Kyoya if she could ride with him, and she didn't return; I assumed that meant she would be going with him. It wasn't long before I noticed girls filing out of the music room, and I looked to Mori.

"Are we leaving soon?"

"Yes," he nodded, watching the people go by. "We'll leave after it clears out a little first." I nodded in agreement, not knowing if he saw or not, so I turned to the girl who had joined us from Honey's Mob.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Asami Kurosagi," she replied cheerily. "And you?"

"I'm Talia Robinson; I'm a second-year student." I smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm only a first-year," Asami admitted, "but likewise." She studied me carefully for a moment, and then said, "You don't seem to be from here. How long have you been going to Ouran?"

"Only for a few days, actually," I responded. "I transferred here from America. Michigan, to be exact."

"Oh," Asami responded softly; I thought I detected a trace of dislike in her voice, but shoved the notion aside. "That's nice." She grew quiet after that, as though she didn't want to talk to me anymore. I internally felt slightly irritated, but I also shove that feeling away quickly. _It's none of my concern why she doesn't like Americans,_ I thought to myself while watching more girls filed out of the room. Asami began to talk to Aiko as I did so, her tone returning to normal. _I wish she wouldn't act so coldly, though. I was only trying to be friendly. _I continued to silently watch people move by our couch before Mori rose.

"It's time we should be going," he announced, and Honey jumped up as well. "Follow me, everyone."

"Here we go!" Honey exclaimed, receiving girlish squeals from Aiko and Asami. _Good grief._ I thought to myself, following farther behind the merry group. I wanted all the fresh air my lungs could hold and stomach could enjoy before I had to stomach the squeals and girlish giggling for a whole _hour_ of driving. I braved myself mentally for the worst.

I followed Mori, Honey, and the girls outside; lines upon lines of girls waited to get into these gigantic buses which came pretty close to the size of a monster truck I had seen on TV once. There were at least a hundred of each, all sitting idly and waiting for their passengers to file in and the signal to start driving. _How do they even organize all of this?!_ I wondered in amazement, attempting to follow my travelling party while observing the seemingly orderly madness.

"I have room for three in the back and one in the front." Mori's voice drew me back to my travelling group, who had all stopped next to this really cool, white car that I assumed was an Acura. "Mitzkuni, do you want to sit in front or in the back with the girls?"

"In front, please!" Honey exclaimed. "That way, Usa-chan has a great view of _everything_ we drive by!" I smiled at his enthusiasm about his little stuffed bunny, but both Aiko and Asami sighed dreamily, each commenting in one way or another about how cute Honey was. I mean, yes, Honey was one of the most adorable boys I had ever seen. He reminded of me of a little kid that I'd babysat eons ago. But to get all excited over _every little thing_ he did? Come on; I can think of much better ways to waste my time than _that._

"Come on, Talia!" Aiko shook my shoulder and drew me out of thinking. "You can have the window seat, alright?"

"Sure," I shrugged as Asami climbed into the back seat. "I don't care." Aiko climbed in shortly after Asami had disappeared, and I followed her. Mori held the door open for us, but I was surprised that I was the only one to say, "Thanks, Mori." He smiled at me as I sat down and shut the door after I had buckled in. He quickly moved to the driver's seat and hopped in. The interior of the car was as comfortable as it was deceiving; the outside of the Acura portrayed a small interior, when in reality it was quite roomy. Mori's seat was pulled back from the driver's seat a good distance, but Asami seemed to have a vast amount of leg room besides. I wondered to myself why I was taking noticing such things, and then I heard what Asami and Aiko were going on about. They were still going on about Honey, so I attempted to refocus on the boring facts while their voices penetrated my imaginary force field that attempted to separate their chatter from my ear.

"Isn't Honey just the cutest?!" Asami whispered to Aiko, her voice high-pitched and squealy.

"I know!" Aiko agreed, her voice raising to the same octave. I sighed, shaking my head slightly (while smiling) and looked out the window, successfully blocking out their voices for a time. We drove pretty quickly, the scenery whipping by in almost incoherent blurs. I simply stared up at the sky where the sun bursts through holes in marshmallow clouds; this day would prove to be very warm indeed, so long as the weather would hold. I continued to stare out the window until my name was called. I turned to see nothing, but hear Honey's voice.

"Have you ever been to the beach before?" Honey asked, attempting to turn around.

"Yes, I have," I answered. "We have lots of lakes where I live; I go to the beach almost every day during the summertime."

"Are they like our beaches?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly, laughing softly. "I've never been to a Japanese beach, but I don't think that it will be that much different. Possibly more sandy, but same water."

There was a pause before he spoke again. "You don't have sand to make sandcastles with?" He sounded somewhat awed and disappointed by what I had said, so I leaned forward so I could see him, resting my chin on the seat right next to the headrest.

"Well, we had some sand, but it was full of rocks and no good for building sandcastles." I answered. "But, I _have _built a sandcastle before, with my family." Honey's face had begun to fall, so I added that last part on quickly.

"What did it look like?" I had his attention now, and he looked up at me with wide eyes.I smiled, recalling the time my family had gone to California to visit some relatives and we went to the Pacific Ocean for a day; a place called Pismo Beach, if my memory serves. I told him about what had happened that day, including a funny story including me receiving a piggy-back ride from an uncle because the sand was too hot for my feet.

"That must have been funny!" Honey laughed, squeezing Usa-chan tighter. "You must have looked silly trying to get across by yourself!"

"I suppose you were right," I laughed with him, noticing that the others had been paying attention to my story as well. "I was thankful to have such a loving uncle to let me ride on his shoulders."

"Yep!" Honey giggled, and as I sat back in my seat, he began to talk to Mori. Aiko and Asami also restarted their previous conversation, leaving me alone again. I exhaled softly, trying not to feel upset. _I am the odd one out here,_ I reminded myself. _It's understandable that they don't want to talk to me as much as their friends._ As I thought this, I had a strange feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced up to see Mori watching me through the rear-view mirror. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. His attention was soon drawn back to the road, and mine was sent back to the sky.

It wasn't long before I felt my eyelids droop, and I allowed them to fall; I could use some extra sleep. The voices beside me grew muted, and I fell to sleep, thankful for an alternative to the squeals and laughter of my friend and the girl who had a dislike for me.


	7. Chapter 7

"Talia! Talia, wake up!" A cheery, persistent voice and rough shaking arose me from my world of sleep, and my eyes slowly opened to see Aiko above me, a smile lighting up her entire face when my vision finally focused. "Come on, sleepyhead, we're here!"

"Where's here?" I asked groggily, wiping sleep from my eyes and sitting up. The sounds of shutting car doors, shuffling of footsteps and peals of laughter surrounded me. I looked out my window to see hordes of girls in bathing suits everywhere, which made me slightly disoriented. I sat, befuddled, before looking back to Aiko. I felt like Gandalf the Grey, to be honest; _I have no recollection of this place,_ was literally the first thought in my mind. The second thought: _How on earth did I get here?_

"What do you mean 'Where's here'?" Aiko laughed. "Don't you remember? Hantsuki Bay, the bonfire party, Mori wanting to hang out with you? You fell asleep on the way here."

My heart beat slightly faster as I did remember Mori wanting to hang out with me; however, now it was only a matter of protecting me from a possible Chie threat, which then cause my heart to beat even faster from fear.

"Come on!" Aiko pulled at my arm, attempting to drag me out of the car. "Everyone's waiting!" My fear momentarily vanished at my friend's enthusiasm.

"Alright, alright!" I laughed, shaking my arm free and undoing my seat belt. "Give a girl a chance to wake up, would ya?" I grabbed my bag as Aiko playfully stuck her tongue out and vanished out the door. I scooted out, and as my feet touched pavement I had to shield my eyes from the blinding sunlight. Once my eyes adjusted, however, they beheld a sight too beautiful for any words.

Lush green grass rolled over the property, leading up to a large mansion that was pristine and proud. The house faced the parking lot, and smooth, white walkways weaved around it, giving access to the beach and other hidden places. Resting next to the house was the beach; white sand sprawled thickly towards the shore where blue water splashed in opposition to it. The cawing of seagulls was few, and mighty cliffs stood guard on either side of the beach. I felt like I had walked into a movie.

"Nice, isn't it?" Aiko asked, leading me towards the house.

"Nice?" I asked, jogging slightly to catch up to her. "This is _much_ more than nice. This is incredible!" Aiko laughed at my attitude, and I mock-shoved her away. "I thought that Ouran was impressive, but this . . . this is insane!"

"Come on," Aiko grinned grabbing me by the arm again. "Shina's waiting for us." She started off, but she stopped suddenly to turn and wave. "See ya later, Honey!" she called, and I turned to see Mori helping Honey with some sun-screen application.

"Bye, Aiko!" Honey smiled, waving back. He also waved at me, and I waved back. "Bye, Talia!"

"Goodbye, Honey," I smiled, and as Aiko yanked on my arm, I managed to wave at Mori - and receive a smile in return - before I was hauled away to wherever Shina was by a very energetic Aiko. She led me through the crowd of people, managing not to roughly run into anyone and it was awhile before she thought she had spotted Shina. My arm was protesting at every sharp turn or redirection, however, and pretty soon it began to throb slightly. "Aiko," I said gently, attempting to stop her in a clearing between the masses of people. "Aiko! Stop!" I finally cried, drawing my arm from her grasp.

"What? What's the matter?" she turned around quickly, confusion spreading over her face.

"I need a break," I told her, rubbing my wrist. "You're going to pull my arm out of its socket at this rate!" I laughed as I said it, but my tone was just as harsh as I feared it'd be.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Aiko realized what she had been doing, and she frowned. "I'm just so _excited!_ It's the first Ouran Host Club party of the year, and I can't help it!" Aiko wriggled with excitement as though to prove her point, and I laughed.

"I'm really excited too, but I'd like to be able to use my arm after tonight," I smiled at her, glad that she was my friend. "Don't worry; I'm sure I'll live. Let's go find Shina." As I stood, someone roughly bumped into my just-recovered arm, and I snapped my head around to see a friend of Chie's going by.

"Oops, sorry," she apologized sarcastically. "Clumsy me."

"It's alright," I replied coldly as Aiko drew closer to me. I felt my eyes narrow just as the stranger's did, and the tension between us grew so thick I could have reached out and punched it before I reached the girl's face. "Just be a little more careful next time."

"You be careful," the girl hissed at me, whirling off and disappearing into the crowd. I almost started after her when Aiko held me back by my good arm.

"Talia, wait," she exclaimed urgently, and I growled softly as I lost the Gossip Squad Member to the girls. "Talia, what did she mean? Why is Utada threatening you like that?" Her questions continued, not allowing me a chance to answer. "Is she the reason you wanted us to hang out with Mori? The reason why you looked scared back in the music room?" I exhaled softly as she continued to watch me, but before I could get in another word, Shina appeared from behind me.

"Here you are!" she exclaimed, smiling. "I've been looking everywhere for-" Shina noticed our serious faces quickly, causing her cheery voice to trail off. "What's wrong?" she asked quickly, her tone becoming urgent.

"Talia's been threatened by Utada Kobayashi," Aiko explained incorrectly before I could answer. "I've never seen Utada be _that _mean; not even when she's _with _Chie, let alone by herself."

"What did she do?"

"She purposely bumped into Talia, apologized sarcastically, and then told Talia to be careful." Aiko's gaze broke from me up to Shina, and I had to stand up in order to get their attention.

"Utada's only acting that way because Chie probably told her to," I interuppted them, causing both of my friends to look at me. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers. I explained the whole issue to them then and there, and surprisingly both of them listened without interuppting. Once I had finished, their eyes weren't wide with fear as I had expected, but they were serious and calm; both were pondering what I had told them.

"So, Mori wanted to hang out with you _before_ the whole Chie issue?" Aiko asked, and I smiled.

"Yes, but now that I _have_ the Chie issue, he's worried about me."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" Shina had begun to pace in a short line. "The simple fact that he's worried about you shows that he shows some interest in you."

"I'm sure he'd be worried for anyone who was threatened," I shook my head at her. "He's not treating me any differently than he would anyone else, right?"

"Are you that objected to possibly being liked by Mori?" Aiko looked to me. "We're _telling_ you, Talia, that Mori usually doesn't interact with anyone outside of the Host Club; he only hangs out with Honey, mostly, and at those times his attention is _completely_ directed at Honey. You're the first to ever get responses out of him, and believe me, many have tried before you." I looked at Aiko, who seemed so serious. It was completely out of character for her, but before I could respond, Shina quickly stopped pacing.

"Come on," she spoke quickly, grabbing my right arm and beginning to pull. "We have to get you to Mori quickly; if Chie's gang is already starting to mess with you, worse things are sure to be in store for later." Aiko and I nodded in agreement, and I nervously swallowed as I ran off with my friends in search of Mori and Honey.

Thankfully, the two Hosts weren't far off; in fact, they were on the beach already in front of the beginnings of a sand castle. I laughed slightly as I noticed the perimeter that had been set up around them; at least ten feet of area encircled by a rope separated Honey and Mori - along with their sandcastle - from the mob of girls that eagerly watched for any moment that Honey would drop a cute bomb. We walked up and stood behind the crowd; I, personally, was just glad to be near enough to a group of people that Chie couldn't possibly attempt something without getting caught. We watched them for awhile (not exactly my idea of fun at a party), but soon enough food was brought out for guests, and the majority of the girls got up to inspect the snacks. Mori also rose to stretch his legs while Honey continued happily with his sandcastle. Given our chance, Aiko, Shina and I walked around the rope to get closer to them.

"Hey Honey! Hey Mori!" Aiko called out first, catching their attention. Both looked towards us, and I saw something like relief fill Mori's eyes. "We lost you guys in the crowd!"

"Hi, Aiko!" Honey waved his red shovel at us, smiling ear-to-ear. "Hi Talia! Hi . . ." he reached Shina and frowned slightly, concentrating hard. "I don't think I know who you are!" he exclaimed quickly, looking to my friend. "What's your name?"

"I'm Shina," Shina smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Honey."

"It's nice to meet you, too!" Honey giggled, and immediately I could tell that Shina wasn't as taken with Honey like Aiko and Asami were; she didn't giggle as Aiko did at Honey's remark. _I'm not the only one, _I smiled to myself, thankful.

"Where's your bathing suit?" Mori inquired, looking down at my school uniform. It was then that I realized that Aiko and Shina _were_ in bathing suits. I glanced down at my uniform as well.

"Uh . . . I think I left my bag back in the car." I looked up at Mori, slightly embarrassed. "I _did_ bring a suit, though."

"Come on," Shina laughed, reaching for my hand. "I'll take you to Mori's car." She looked briefly to Mori. "Which car is yours?"

"The white Acura out near the edge of the parking lot," Mori described, and Shina nodded in thanks.

"Alright, lady, go get your suit!" Aiko giggled, turning me away from the Host and giving me an encouraging shove. "We'll still be here; don't worry."

"I won't," I smiled thankfully, letting Shina pull me the rest of the way to the parking lot. We quickly made it to the white Acura, grabbed my bag and headed back to the house. I quickly changed outfits, and soon we were back outside, ready to enjoy the last day of summer sun.

Honey waved to us as we approached; Aiko had decided to help him with his sandcastle,and they both paused by the shoreline where they were apparently looking for seashells to decorate their work-in-progress. Mori was observing from a lawn-chair close by, soaking in the sun and smiling as we approached.

"You look comfortable," I teased, stopping next to his lawn chair. "Where do you suppose we could find some chairs?"

"I'll go get you some," Mori suggested, beginning to rise from his chair.

"That's not what I asked," I shook my head, putting my hand out to keep him from rising. The brief contact sent shivers up my arm "You're comfortable already; we won't die by going and getting our own lawns chairs." He sank back into his chair as I asked again, "Now, where did you say they were?"

"Up near the house," Mori smiled. "If you walk by the refreshment tables, you should see them."

"Alright then," I smiled. "I'll be right back. Again." I looked to Shina. "You want to come with me?"

"Here," Mori jumped up again, this time before I could stop him. "She can have my seat. I'll grab another one with you." I attempted to protest, but Shina beat me to the punch.

"Thanks, Mori," she thanked him sweetly, sitting down in his chair. I felt slightly betrayed - and also shot a minor, half-angry glare at my traitor-friend - but I let it go. _Mori obviously wants to tell me something, so Shina's playing along._ I concluded, my glare turning to a quick smile as Mori turned to face me.

"See you later, Shina!" I waved good-bye, and Shina giggled at me with a hidden serious look in her eyes. "Lead the way, kind sir," I turned to Mori playfully, holding my arm out for Mori to head out.

"Ladies first," Mori insisted, however, causing me to swallow an irritated sigh and move forward. This guy was over 6' and a whole lot stronger than I was; I was not going to even _attempt_ to protest without being slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes or causing a scene. Either way, I would be _extremely _embarassed.

I weaved my way through the crowd among the large stone patio that rested at the south side of the house. White, crisp, neat and orderly tables dotted the patio, leaving spacious room for mingling with other guests. I also noticed some waiters waiting away from the tables; probably to go and get refills of food if a table ran out. As I passed by one, I snagged a cracker and nibbled at it; I also thought I heard Mori chuckle slightly at what I did, but I continued on my quest for a lawn chair.

As Mori said, there was a large stack of lawn chairs back off behind the refreshment tables, with one attendant keeping watch. He greeted us with a nod as we approached, and Mori then decided to walk ahead of me. "I'll grab your chair for you," he said, selecting a green one and handing it to me.

"Thanks, Mori," I smiled at him, supressing another irritated sigh. _I can do things on my own!_ I felt like saying, but I knew he was only acting this way because he wanted to ensure my safety. I still didn't believe that Chie would try anything at a party this big, but the encounter with one of the Gossip Squad did raise my caution a few degrees. When Mori had his chair, I walked over to him.

"Look," I began softly, "I know that you're worried for me. I understand that there's a _possibility_ Chie might pull something here. But I _can _do things for myself, Mori." I looked up at him, seeing his emotionless face on me. "I appreciate you trying to protect me, but let me have a little freedom . . . please?" His eyes grew unfocused, as though taking in what I had said when I thought I heard a strange noise. I looked up and let out a yelp of warning; their were _lawn chairs_ beginning to rain down on top of us, and no sooner had I said something that Mori grabbed my arm, pulling me towards him. I lost grip on my lawn chair and he apparently threw his aside as the world spun around us. When I recovered, I realized that Mori and I landed a good seven feet away from the lawn chair station; an enormous pile of lawn chairs now laid where we had been standing, the pile leaning towards where I had been.

"Holy crap," I whispered, my body shaking.

"Are you hurt?" Mori's voice was fierce, and when I looked to him, his eyes were blazing with adrenaline. "Talia, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I reassured him. "Just a bit shaken." I looked from Mori to the chairs, back at Mori, and then once back at the chair who now had attendants swarming the scene. "How did you do that?"

"What?!" Mori's voiced morphed from angered to confused as I looked back to him.

"You just . . . instantly reacted. Like you've been trained to do stuff like that." I searched his face, amazed at his skill yet still terrified of what had just occured. "What on earth did you do?"

"Nevermind that," he shook his head, helping me up. "We should be getting back to the beach. Your friends are probably wondering where we've gone." As we stood, his voice lowered to a hoarse whisper. "This is why I'm being protective." He looked to the pile, and then back at me. "Chie _is _going to attack you here; the evidence is right there. And this is only the beginning." I glanced back at the pile, and then back to Mori and nodded.

"I believe you," I whispered, dusting myself off. Mori exhaled slowly as I grabbed up a chair next to me."You're right; we should be heading back." Mori grabbed his own chair, and with that - and one last glance at the mountain of lawn chairs - we headed back to the beach. We found Shina helping Aiko and Honey, and Mori and I sat down in our newly aqcuired lawn chairs. One lone, lingering thought planted itself in the back of my mind as I sunbathed: if the lawn chair incident was only the beginning, what could possibly happen next?


	8. Chapter 8

I apologize for not posting this sooner! It was Show Week in drama club and I've been so busy! I'll try to post a new chapter every 1-2 weeks, so please be patient! Thank you for all of the views and the support!

May God bless you! (^_^)

MJS

Mori and I didn't speak of our almost-trip to the hospital; we sat in our lawn chairs as we originally planned and sunbathed while watching our friends. Honey, Aiko, and Shina continue on the sandcastle; they completed many trips to and from the shore for more water and seashells. Honey even brought Mori a few seashells, earning an adoring sigh from Aiko and grins from me and Shina. Mori took them graciously, admiring them and telling Honey that he liked them a lot. Honey was satisfied, and gave Mori a large grin before tottering off back to Shina and Aiko and continuing to merrily work away on their creation. Mori slipped the shells into his swim-trunks pocket (I honestly didn't even know those existed) and went back to watching his charge enjoy his sand-castle building project.

It wasn't long before some of the girls from the patio came over to watch Honey, and they told Mori and I about the lawn-chair incident; apparently, some teenage boys had snuck into the party and decided to play a joke by stealing some lawn chairs and heaving them over the second-floor balcony above the chair station. Mori and I cast a glance at one other, but other than that we pretended to know nothing about it. They also believed that there was a rumor that the Ootori family's private police force had been called in to secretly investigate how the teens got into the party. After filling us in, they turned back to Honey and began oogling over him.

"Do you think they'll find them?" I asked Mori, looking to him. "The boys that broke into the party?"

"There is a very slim chance that they'll get away," Mori nodded. "The Ootori family's police force are very efficient; I think the intruders will be found quickly." I nodded in agreement, and then laid back, closing my eyes to the warm sunshine that smothered everything. I lay that way, simply trying to calm down and relax when I heard my voice called. I opened an eye to see Aiko waving at me, a gesture to come over to her.

"I'll see you later, Mori," I said, rising from my comfortable chair. "Aiko wants me to go over there." He nodded, and I ran through the silky-smooth sand to where she stood. As I grew closer, I noticed she was carrying a pail full of sand.

"What's up?" I asked, pausing beside her.

"Shina and Honey went searching for some more seashells, and I could use some help mixing up some fresh sand for building!" Aiko explained cheerily, holding out her little red bucket for me to see.

"Do I have to?" I complained, looking unenthusiastic at the bucket. "I really don't do sandcastles, Aiko."

"Honey _personally_ asked me to ask you," she insisted, trying to pull puppy-dog eyes at me. "Please Talia? Will you help us?"

I sighed, looking at Aiko and her pleading, wimpering eyes. _Good grief,_ I shook my head slowly, and then sighed again. "I suppose I could help with-" I was unable to finish the rest of my sentence as Aiko grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to the shore. I exclaimed in protest, but Aiko ignored me.

"This is going to be fantastic!" Aiko crowed, charging for the shore as fast I as I could delay her, struggling in her grasp. "Honey will be _sooo_ happy!"

"I'm not a rag doll! I can move on my own!" I shouted, half-laughing, half-wincing as her hand held firm on my wrist and wrenched it. "Aiko! Let go!"

"Not until we get to the shore line!" She answered back, and it actually wasn't long before we got to the shore and sat down, beginning to measure out water to sand ratios; I learned that Aiko was a _lot_ better at math than I was. We didn't take long - we actually returned to the sandcastle not five minutes later - but as we approached I saw Chie and a couple of her 'friends' talking to Shina and Honey. I sucked in a breath of clean air before we completed our journey and as we approached, Honey innocently waved.

"Hi Talia! Hi Aiko!" he chirped, his grand smile widening as he saw us coming. "Did you bring more water?" Chie's head slowly turned towards us, but I kept my gaze on Honey's face, hoping that Mori was close by.

"Not yet, Honey," I answered his question while smiling. "That's what we're going to do right now; we just need some buckets to carry water in."

"We got all the seashells!" He exclaimed, waving a bucket that was overflowing with various shells. Shina ducked from a collision course, and carefully snatched it out of his hands.

"Let's not spill them all," Shina attempted to say cheerfully, putting the bucket down. She looked weary, as though she couldn't take anymore Honey for the day. I shot her a sympathetic glance, but she didn't catch it. As I did, I saw Mori out of the corner of my eye watching our little group, and it eased some of my worry away.

"Hello, Robinson," Chie finally spoke up after watching me for a small moment. "Enjoying the party so far?"

"I am, Chie." I answered, finally looking at her straight on since Aiko and I arrived. "It's been a lot of fun." Her face was cool, collected, yet she seemed . . . miffed; that was the word. She seemed awfully miffed about something, and it peeked out from underneath her current composition. "Hey, did you hear about that lawn chair thing?" I asked, wanting to see what strings I could pull. "That must have been something, huh?"

"Yeah," Chie nodded stiffly, her voice growing hard. "Definitely something."

"Do you think they'll catch the intruders? That'd be pretty scary, having some creepers running around unknown at a party, right?"

"Definitely scary," she agreed again, but her voice was strained, as though she was forcing the words out of her mouth. "I hope they catch them soon."

"Are you alright, Chie?" I tilted my head slightly, frowning. "You seem upset."

"Oh nothing," she quickly smiled, large and fake. "I just ate a little too much, that's all; the food they have here is really good."

"Oh, okay. I'll have to go try some later; we've been busy with sandcastles all day." I smiled right back. "Hey, Shina," I turned to my friend, who now looked _really_ tired; Honey must be too much cute for her to handle. "You wanna switch jobs with me? I'm not really good at math, but I bet you could be a lot more help to Aiko than I would. I can help Honey with the seashells, if you'd like."

"You don't mind, do you Honey?" Shina asked, trying to sound casual but ended up really excited.

"That's alright!" With all his cuteness, Honey can sure be naive. "I'd love Talia's help!"

"Alright then," I smiled as Shina stood, brushing off her legs and coming over to Aiko. "You two have fun!" Shina quickly made her way to Aiko, and the look on her face told everyone - except Honey - that she was just _itching_ to get away from Honey. I held back a giggle; no need to cause more problems than necessary.

"We will!" My friends replied, heading off towards a pile of buckets as I assumed Shina's previous position next to Honey. I began piling sand together, asking Honey what he thought we should do next while Chie and her gang hovered above us. I heard them whispering above us, but I didn't give it a second thought. Mori was nearby, and he was watching; they couldn't pull anything here.

"Come on girls," Chie finally said, apparently deciding to stop attempting to aggravate me and turned to leave. "Let's see if we can go find the others." Her girls followed with disdainful sniffs of their own, and I called to them:

"See you later, girls!" My smile was wide, knowing that I had been able to mess with Chie without any sudden repercussions. I turned back to Honey, but not before I caught the dirty glare that Chie threw my way. The girls headed away, and I shoved my negative feelings away; I was very glad I could now enjoy hanging out with Honey without any more distractions from the Gossip Squad.

We spent a good time decorating our part of the sandcastle; I showed Honey a variety of different designs with the shells, and he was determined to have them all on the sandcastle _somewhere. _We took twigs from nearby trees and swirled the designs carefully in the sand, and it wasn't long after that Aiko and Shina appeared with more building sand. In addition to the main building and two side towers, three side towers were added around the base and one main tower extended the height of our castle. More seashells and designs were added, and we went at it for the majority of the afternoon. Mori even joined us partway through, showing Honey how to keep the sandcastle from falling down after the sand had dried.

The sky darkened sometime afterwards, and we all stood back, admiring our sandcastle. "Good job, team!" Aiko cheered. "It's fantastic!"

"It is," I agreed, nodding. "I could use some food though; I don't think I've eaten anything since we got here." My stomach rumbled in agreement, but Shina interrupted my train of thought.

"First, let's go explore up there." She pointed to the cliff that loomed over the far end of the beach, standing a good six feet or more above the ground. "It's been bugging me _all day;_ I'd really want to go see what's up there. You guys want to come with me?"

"Sure. I'm up for an adventure." I agreed, deciding my rumbly stomach could go a little longer without food. "Are you guys coming?" I looked to Aiko, Mori and Honey for their responses, but Mori shook his head.

"Nope, we have to head back to the house; Host Club stuff." Honey elaborated for us, and Aiko looked apologetically to Shina and I.

"I'm gonna grab some food first; my stomach is yelling at me. I'll meet you guys up there in a little bit, alright?" She explained, her expression fearful of our reaction.

"That's fine, Aiko." Shina shrugged. "We'll see you up there! Come on, Talia!" With a final wave to Aiko, we turned to make our way up to the cliff. The sound of my name, however, cause me to turn back. Mori looked at me, his eyes tinted with worry.

"Be careful, alright?" He asked. "Keep an eye out for those intruders; there hasn't been any report that they've been caught."

"We'll be careful, Mori," I nodded, hoping my smile would reassure him. "You go off to your Host Club stuff; Shina and I will be fine." Mori seemed to want to argue, but he thought about it and then nodded.

"See you later," he said, slowly following Honey, who had began to rush back towards the house. He began to walk away, but not before he threw one last glance over his shoulder which I returned with another smile.

"Come on, lover girl, let's go!" Shina exclaimed, running off towards the cliff and not waiting for me. I laughed, hurrying off to where she had gone, her dark hair and suit blending into the darkness.

"Wait up!" I called, laughing as I made it to these rocks that offered me a way up to the cliff-side. I heard rocks shifting above me, which made me assumed that Shina had already started up. I grabbed hold of the closest rocks above me and made my way, slow and steady, up the cliff-side. The slowly growing darkness made me slightly uneasy, but I heard Shina hoist herself up to the cliff top, so I continued to climb, knowing that I could do this; this was no different than a rock-climbing wall back home . . . I just couldn't let go without risking breaking something.

I eventually made my way to the very top, and I saw low, dim light of a dying campfire. "How did you get firewood up here?" I called out, hauling myself the last length so I was sitting on top of the cliff. When I heard no response, I slowly stood my eyes adjusting to the new, dim light source. There was a figure near it, but once I looked closer, four different outlines appeared; three larger than the single, moving silhouette. The small shrieks of fear I heard alerted me to Shina's presence, and I put the piece together; the three other outlines must be the teens who attempted to crush Mori and I with the lawn chairs.

I looked around desperately for something to work with; there wasn't any sticks up here, but there were tons of rocks. I picked one up slowly, and I crept up to the silhouettes. As I drew closer, their voices became clearer, and I managed to hear their conversation.

"What do you think we should do with her?" A voice emanated from the darkness, low but rough. "She's found our hiding spot; Chie'll be furious if she knows that we were found."

_So it was Chie!_ I concluded in my head as I drew closer. _No wonder that Mori and I were the ones targeted!_

"I know a way to keep her quiet," a lighter voice spoke, younger and softer. "Just duct-tape her mouth shut and send her over the cliff; no one would miss her until it was time to clear out." The smaller silhouette began squirming harder, and the shadow behind Shina growled.

"No; that would definitely get us caught." It protested. "We've managed to avoid being spotted by the Ootori's force so far; we can go a little longer." Before it could speak any farther, I chucked my rock at the outline of his head; the shadow collapsed and Shina managed to break free. The other two shadows jumped up, and I grabbed another rock.

"Shina! Get out of here!" I screeched, throwing the rock again. I hit someone, but not hard enough to knock them out. Shina managed to duck away, but only she managed to get climbing down the cliff-face before one of the shadows blocked the way.

"Who the heck do you think you are?" It growled, and I took a few cautious steps backwards. I then remembered the second shadow and kept my attention heightened.

"Someone who won't let their friends be harassed by a group of jerks like you," I retorted, and I heard a shriek from below. _Shina must have fallen!_ I worried, attempting to see where she was in the darkness and failed. "So, Chie hired you guys, huh?" I kept on talking, refocusing on the creeps, not wanting them to head for Shina. "You guys have a pretty lousy employer; whatever she's promised you, I guarantee you'll never get it." I sub-consciously noticed that I was growing closer to the edge of the cliff, and I stood still for only a moment. I learned that it was probably the dumbest move I've ever made, seeing as a pair of arms wrapped around me, preventing me from moving.

"You should learn to keep your mouth shut," the third voice growled in my ear, and I instinctively began to struggle. I felt something sticky on the back of my head; I probably cut the guy's head open with my rock.

"Let go of me! Let go of me!" I shrieked, thrashing violently in his arms. I almost broke free at one point, but the arms wrapped around me again, keeping me where I was. I kept fighting, wondering if I would ever be able to break free, until I suddenly realized what I needed to do. I inhaled deeply, turned towards the house and then shouted for all I was worth:

"MORI! MORI, HELP ME!" I remembered the promise he made, and I screamed his name over and over and over. I continued to struggle against my captor, and he continually tried to cover my mouth with his hand. I tasted blood and heard a crunch each time I bit down on his fingers, followed by a yowl of pain. The next thing I knew, lights were flashing on below us, and I continued to scream: "MORI!"

The next instant, he was up on the cliff with us; I managed to snatch glimpses of his face in the wayward flashlight beams from below. He began taking out the boys, one by one. He was a literal blur; everything was happening so fast I only saw the other boys fall. The one that was holding me eventually let go, in fear of his own safety, and I attempted to move away . . . until the loss of feeling of rock beneath my feet sent fear piercing through my body. The boy had thrown me off of the ledge . . . and I was falling from a good seven feet up. Last I checked, the lowest height a human in order to die from falling was six.

My eyes opened wide as the darkened beach sand grew closer and closer, and the instant my body hit the ground, the air was knocked from my body, pain exploded everywhere and I fell into an eerie, fright-filled unconsciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

To all of you who took time out of your day to read my story _again,_ I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! I hope to have another chapter out before then, but if I don't, all the same!

-MJS

I don't know how long I was out for, but when I came to the whole front of my body ached. An large pounding reverberated in my head, and I couldn't move any of my limbs without a very persuasive resistance. I also attempted to open my eyes, but they only managed to flit slightly open before stopping. My whole body felt incredibly heavy and the pain was intense; only the sound of voices talking back and forth kept me from falling back into unconscious darkness.

The only voices I could discern were Kyoya's and Honey's; Kyoya was talking urgently to himself, which I assumed meant that he was using a cellphone, and Honey sounded on the edge of crying. A soft murmur interuppted him every so often, but it took me a moment to realize that the sound came from Mori; he was attempting to calm his friend's worries, and the thought sent chills down my arms and my heart fluttering. I forced my eyes open, which caused Haruhi to rush up to me.

"Her eyes are open!" He exclaimed softly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to me. I was soon towered by each of the Hosts sans Kyoya; he was still off talking on his cellphone. "Talia, can you hear me?" My eyes darted back and forth, attempting to process five different voices and faces at once, but it simply became to much for my energy-drained body. I closed my eyes again, attempting to block out the noise when Kyoya came to my rescue.

"Give her some space," he ordered, and immediately the presence of people above me vanished. "We still don't know the full extent of her damage, and I believe it would be a bad idea to cause the damage to be worse if she has to defend herself from us."

"Talia! Are you okay?" Honey's panic-filled voice pierced the room, interuppting Kyoya's instructions. "Are you hurt? Please don't die"

I didn't move, but I found that my voice worked well enough to call, "Honey, please come here. I want to see your face." The quick shuffling of nervous footsteps grew closer and as I opened my eyes again, the first thing that came into view was Honey's tear-stained, fearful face. His eyes were wide with terror, and he literally had Usa-chan in a headlock. "Honey," I whispered, attempting to soothe him, "I do not want to lie to you. I am in pain." He gasped slightly, tears threatening to spill onto his face. "But, I will live through it. I promise."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I've come through many things in my life, and I'm positive I'll get through this to. But, I need you to do something for me." My words stopped the tears, and Honey's eyes widened quickly.

"Anything, Talia! I promise!" he exclaimed, literally jumping up and down beside me. The movement jostled whatever I was laying on - from the looks of it, it was some form of futon -and the loudness of his voice sent pain to my head and shooting through my body, causing me to hiss. Honey instantly froze, but I looked to him, not angry.

"I need you to go to Mori and to be with him," my voice dropped to a very low whisper, causing Honey to draw closer. "You need to be strong for him; tell me, does he look worried? Frightened?" Honey's head turned to wherever Mori was, and when he turned back to face me, he nodded slowly. "Go and sit by him, tell him that he doesn't need to worry. I'm going to be fine; I will get better, even if it takes a little while. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Honey nodded, determination hardening his little face. My arm unwillingly rose, and my hand landed on Honey's shoulder.

"It's alright to be a little frightened," I told him, "but even in scary times, we need to do our best to be brave." My arm dropped slowly and I smiled at Honey. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Lia-chan." Honey smiled slightly back, and the name he used caused me to smile. He turned and headed off towards the unseen place where Mori was, and in his place Tamaki appeared.

"I apologize for this terrible thing that has happened," he said, an unusually solemn look on his face. "We have alerted your mother about what has happened; she's on her way here as we speak."

_Fantastic. Now I'm a dead girl._ I sighed slightly, but I looked graciously to Tamaki. "Thank you very much," I replied. "I'm sorry this happened too. I should have something to Shina; maybe this whole thing would have been avoided."

"It wasn't your fault, my dear," Tamaki shook his head. "I am afraid it was our fault." Sorrow overtook his handsome face as he looked down on me and continued, "We still have no idea how those hooligans came to be in the boundaries we set up, or who could have possibly allowed them in."

"Chie Utada," I immediately revealed, causing the room to go silent. "Shina and I heard them; the boys were afraid that Chie would be furious with them because they had been found. I didn't hear anymore before I threw a rock at the one who was holding Shina and the whole commotion ensued."

"Are you positive?" Kyoya appeared beside Tamaki, his sharp, defining eyes focused and alert. "Can Shina attest to this?"

"I'm sure she will," I answered, knowing that an attempt to nod would be a dumb thing to do. I did, however, attempt to look around the room. "Is she still here?" The pain in my neck, however caused me to stop almost instantly.

"No; we sent everyone home once you were safely moved from the beach." Tamaki shook his head.

"Well, I'm positive Shina heard them too; she was literally right underneath their noses when the guy said Chie's name." I looked quickly between the two Hosts. "Is she alright? I thought I heard her fall off the cliff when she was trying to get away. . ."

"She _did_ fall, but she wasn't hurt," Kyoya informed me. "She only fell about two feet while climbing down the cliff side; you, on the other hand, fell from at least eight feet and landed at a slight angle." I winced slightly as he continued, "I have called for a doctor, and they should be here shortly." No sooner had he spoke than the sound of tires stopping abruptly on the parkway outside broke into our conversation. However, the slamming of a car door told me that this wasn't the doctor; the panicked voice that emanated through the room and the pattering of small feet sentenced me to the wrath of my mom, who appeared next to Kyoya instantly.

"Oh, Talia! Sweetheart, are you alright?" Just as any mother would, she instantly began to fret and fuss, causing the pounding in my head - which had shrank to a dull throb - to grow, and I attempted to reassure her, but she kept on. "Why weren't you more careful? How did this happen? Who's in charge here? I have a bone to pick with them . . ."

"You must be Talia's mother," Tamaki stepped up, bowing slightly. "My name is Tamaki Suoh, ma'am. I am the King of the Ouran Host Club and . . ."

"So it was _you!" _Mom whirled on him, fire in her eyes fueled by rage. "I should have known better than to let my daughter go to a party run by a bunch of teenage _boys!_ Where are your parents? Do they know what you boys have been doing? Were there no parents around to supervise?!" She had literally backed Tamaki up into a corner, and the poor guy was terrified. He couldn't move anywhere, and none of the other Hosts seemed to want to get in my mom's way to rescue him. The funny part was, my mom was so angry that she forgot to actually speak in Japanese; I wasn't quite sure whether any of the Hosts understood what she had screamed at Tamaki.

"MOM!" I managed to summon enough of my voice to yell forceful enough to get her attention. "It wasn't his fault!" My mother reluctantly turned around to look at me, and as she did Tamaki found his opportunity to sneak away and hide behind Kyoya. I sighed, my body beginning to ache again. "My friend Shina and I wanted to explore the cliff by the beach, so we headed up by ourselves _on our own_. No one else knew we had gone up there." I really hated lying to my mom, but I wasn't going to let Mori, Honey, or Aiko get in trouble for what Shina and I had done. "Shina beat me to the top, and when I got there I saw that she had been captured by some teenage boys that weren't supposed to be at the party _at all._ No one knew they were there."

"That we are totally responsible for," Kyoya jumped in, looking apologetically to my mother. "We were not expecting anyone to try and break into the party - all parties held by the Host Club are open to all students of Ouran Academy - and the security was lacking. I am very sorry." The fact that Kyoya actually knew English shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. Refocusing, I found my chance to finish the story before my mom totally began to clobber the boys.

"I managed to throw a rock and get Shina free, but before I could follow her the boys blocked off my path. Shina had gone for help, and in the midst of the chaos I was shoved off the cliff." I finished, and my mom mulled over what I had told her. As she did, the sound of a siren alerted us to the arrival of a ambulance, and the medics rushed in and immediately set to work on me.

"We need you to hold as still as possible, but stay relaxed," the female told me in very accented English, and I attempted to comply as they prodded and poked the front of me for broken bones and such. In the end, they only had to tape my right wrist. As they worked, I had to look between the several worried faces that stood back from the futon. I tried to send reassuring glances to each of them; I wanted so badly to erase the anxious faces. Soon, the medics had finished, standing back from the futon.

"She will be fine in about two weeks," the male of the pair announced, easing the tension in the room some. "Her wrist is sprained and several of her muscles are bruised, but other than that, she is perfectly fine."

"Thank you," my mother came up to them, using Japanese. "Thank you so very much." The medics nodded in reply, and then they went over to Kyoya for what I assumed was their payment. Tamaki went with them, the twins and Haruhi disappeared to some room out of my sight, and Honey rushed to what I assumed was the kitchen; the double-swinging doors didn't seem normal for a bedroom.

I closed my eyes, thankful for the brief period of silence. I almost fell asleep before I heard a voice. "I'm so sorry." I opened my eyes quickly to see Mori standing above me, his eyes closed with anguish. He trembled with silent rage as he continued, "It's my fault all of this happened. I should have sent you home after the incident with the lawn chairs."

"Mori, it's not your fault. Neither of us could have stopped that from happening." I looked up at him, telepathically willing him to open his eyes and look at me. "You _cannot_ take the blame for today; no one could have known it was happening besides Chie. . ."

"If I had stayed with you, you would have been safe." Either he didn't hear me, or he wasn't listening to me. "I went with Mitzkuni instead of you, and now you're hurt."

"Accidents happen, Mori!" I kept trying; I didn't blame him for anything, so why was he beating himself up? "You had Host stuff to go do; that's not your fault! Isn't the job of a Host to make others happy? You were only doing your job!"

"If only I had been there . . ." he trailed off, his lowering farther. "I'm so sorry, Talia . . ."

"Would you please . . ."

"No," Mori crouched down next to me, determination burning in his eyes as he grew closer. "I could have stayed. I could have stopped them. I could have protected you. Made _you _happy." My eyes widened, but he continued. "I feel I am supposed to always protect Mitsukuni, but today I feel I have done the wrong thing _by_ protecting Mitsukuni."

"No, you didn't," I shook my head, sitting up with much difficulty and ignoring all of Mori's attempts to keep me down. "I don't expect you to give up your friends just to 'protect' me. You barely even _know _me; why would it be your first instinct to _protect _me?" I shook my head slowly, closing my eyes and smiling. "You _have_ made me happy, Mori." I heard him gasp in a tone that I thought was shock. "Today was one of the best days ever, minus the whole cliff episode." I opened my eyes to see him staring at me. "You _did _choose to be with me; for the whole day you did. And I'm very glad you did."

"But the cliff . . ."

"Would you just stop with the whole . . ."

"Um, excuse me," We both turned abruptly as our conversation was interrupted by Haruhi, who had cautiously peeked his head out of the door he and the twins had disappeared down. "Do you have a moment, miss?" I looked from Haruhi to Mori, and then back to Haruhi and sighed.

"Yes, I do," I struggled to rise from the futon, and I was slightly thankful/irritated when Mori helped me up. "Thanks," I told him, heading off towards Haruhi. I entered the hall and he quickly closed the door behind me and held out a wad of clothing; I could make out a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans in the bunch, but it wasn't until I took them from Haruhi that I realized they were _my _clothes; the same I had changed out of earlier.

"I figured you might want to get changed out of your bathing suit before the day ended." The soft voice that came from this boy drove my curiousity over the edge. This guy was either homosexual, or he _was_ a girl. I took the clothes from him, but then I looked him straight in the eye, determined to get an answer before I headed back out to where Mori waited.

"Look, I know this is going to sound super weird, but it's bugging me since the moment I met you," I began, knowing that I had commanded his/her attention. "Are you a girl portraying to _be_ a boy, or are you a boy who _really _looks like a girl?" Haruhi simply stared, stunned. "I'd like an answer sooner than later," I sighed impatiently. "Are you a girl or aren't you?"

Haruhi stared for a little longer before sighing and looking at me; he/she seemed slightly embarassed. "You're really perceptive; yeah, I'm a girl, but I'm not in the Host Club for reasons you think!"

"I don't care _why_ you're in the Host Club," I shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure whether you were a boy or girl. I've been wondering about it for the past couple days. And if it's some big secret, then I won't tell anyone. I don't see the point in doing so."

"Thanks," Haruhi sighed. "It's a long story."

"No problem," I smiled at her, glad to be one - if not the only - confidant she had. Haruhi led me to a changing room where I threw on the clothes (not literally; it actually took some time to get everything on despite the screaming of my muscles) and then headed back to out to where I hoped Mori waited. As I entered the room again, Mori had changed into clothes himself and was now standing in front of the fireplace. I walked over to him, but before he could start arguing with me again, I cut him off.

"Takashi," I decided to use his real name, which made his eyes not move from my face, "it's over. It's in the past. We're here now, both safe and partially sound," I got him to smile at that, "and it's not going to matter ten years from now. Sure, it'll be a story to tell, it'll be a memory; but it won't be the end of the world." I sighed, looking to Mori. He was looking down now, seeming to contemplate what I had said. I moved back over to the couch/futon and patted the seat next to me, grabbing his attention again. "Here, come and sit by me. I think you could use a little rest yourself." He rose and sat down next to me, and we sat like that in silence, simply enjoying the other's company.

"You did save me today, by the way," I spoke after awhile, breaking the silence. "You pulled me out of the way when the chairs fell, and you came for me when I called for help." I looked to him, smiling. "Thank you, Mori. You really are a life-saver."

He looked up at me, and smiled, saying, "You're welcome." And before I could say anything else, he leaned towards me. I closed my eyes, ready for what I believed he was about to do, but when I didn't feel his lips on mine, I opened my eyes to see him frozen, hesitant.

"What's wrong, Mori?" I asked him, watching him lean backwards again. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, shaking his head. "I won't put you in any more trouble." Before I could respond, however, he rose, simply saying, "Good night, Talia," before disappearing off to who-knew-where and leaving me alone and confused. Very happy, of course, but confused all the same.

My mom eventually gathered me up and we went home, and all the while I thought about what Mori had done before leaving. He was going to kiss me; that was undeniable. But my heart felt saddened that he had run off like that; he was probably scared of what my reaction would have been and thought he did the wrong thing. I sighed quietly in exasperation and closed my eyes, the moment replaying in my head over and over. I decided to not worry about it until later; after all, I had a card that gave me a "See Mori Anytime I Need To" pass, right? I'd talk to him soon; unfortunately, as I did eventually fall asleep, I was very disappointed and my dreams were filled of what I hoped would have happened. Every single time I thought he'd kiss me in the dream, he'd pull back again and darkness would swallow him up, leaving me alone. And I suffered through these dreams by myself.


	10. Chapter 10

The next few weeks at school Mori didn't speak to me at all; even when I visited the Host Club, it felt like I didn't exist to him. Even when I spoke to Honey, Mori would seem distant, only acknowledge that I was there and nothing more. My heart grew heavy with sadness as every day drew wearily on; even Aiko, Shina, and Jinga noticed my change in attitude no matter how hard I tried to stay happy otherwise.

"What happened that night after you fell?" They approached me about five weeks after that night, while I was sitting with them after school one day; we had decided to skip out on our usual trip to the Host Club and were gathered around a pair of benches facing each other. Aiko and Jinga sat across from me and Shina, and I was suprised that Jinga was the one to mention it. She hadn't been there that day, and whatever news she received from other students seemed to be very lacking.

"Nothing," I replied automatically; I had trained myself to forget what Mori had almost done. "They called some paramedics and my mom, I was checked out and deemed alright, I went home. End of story."

"No, something else _had_ to have happened," Aiko pressed, literally wiggling on the edge of her seat. "You've been out of it ever since the day after it; we've all noticed. Something happened that changed you, and we want - no, we _need_ to know."

"We're your friends, aren't we?" Shina pointed out. "We only want to help."

"That's the problem," I mumbled, burying my face into my hands. "There's no possible way that you guys _could_ help."

"Why don't you try telling us first," Jinga suggested gently, "and then we'll decide - as a group - whether we can or cannot help." I glanced through my fingers as they all nodded in unison, and sat up, exhaling heavily.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," I caved in to their request quietly, and Shina placed a reassuring arm around my shoulders.

"Start with when you woke up," she encouraged softly. "You were unconscious when they sent us home; was there anyone around when you woke?"

"Only the Host Club," I answered. "No one else was around."

"Who did you speak to first?" Aiko chimed in, leaning forward to rest her arms on her legs, wanting to get closer but not scare me.

"I . . ." I closed my eyes, trying to remember. "They all crowded over me when they realized I was awake; the first to notice was Haruhi." I thought back to seeing the silhouettes above me, and then them all disappearing. "Honey sounded awfully frightened, so I talked to him first. I told him to be brave and to be there for Mori." My eyes opened, the memory playing freely now. "Then Kyoya . . . or was it Tamaki? Anyway, one of them informed me that my mom was coming, and when she got there she attacked Tamaki she was so scared." I smiled at the vision of my mom - not much taller than my 5'5 build - raging at the Host King, and the girls laughed as well. "Not long after she appeared, the paramedics arrived and checked me out. I only had a sprained wrist, thankfully, and once they were gone, it seemed as though everyone had left." I sighed again, looking down at my shoes. Here came the hard part. "That was, until I heard Mori."

"Yes; what happened then?" I had their attention now, and they were all silently begging for more information; it was plain on their faces. Aiko was the one who spoke up, leaning even closer towards me. I stifled a laugh, thinking she was going to fall off of her bench sitting the way she was, but I took a deep breath, reminding myself to focus.

"Well, he basically apologized for the whole thing; he felt it was his fault that I got hurt."

"But he couldn't have known what was happening," Shina frowned slightly. "That would be silly to blame him."

"That's what I told him!" I threw my arms up in the air, my frustration getting the better of me. "But he felt that if he had stayed with me instead of Honey, the whole thing could have been avoided." My arms landed suddenly and I shook my head. "I tried to explain to him that if it was _anyone's_ fault, it was yours and mine." I pointed to Shina and then back at myself. "We were the ones who wanted to explore; if anyone is to be blamed, it should be us."

"I agree," Shina nodded as I continued my tale.

"Well, we got interrupted - Haruhi had kindly brought my regular clothes back and I changed - and then I went back to where Mori was. I told him that he _had_ saved me; Jinga, you weren't here for this, but Chie and her friends weren't being very pleasant, so Mori offered to hang out with me so that she wouldn't pull any funny business."

"Oh, how sweet!" Jinga smiled, and I nodded in agreement.

"That's how I felt; he wanted to protect me. Me, some girl he barely knows." I smiled, and the dull fire in me that desperately flickered every time Mori was around grew some. "He told me that he wanted to make _me_happy, and he felt that he had failed. But the thing is, he didn't fail," I smiled wistfully. "He made me the happiest girl in the world that day; I didn't tell you guys this, but do you remember that story going around about the lawn chairs falling from that balcony?"

"Yeah," Aiko nodded with Shina while Jinga listened with interest. "I wondered who that happened to, but we never found out. They never told us."

"It was Mori and I; we were almost crushed by those chairs." I revealed, and instant gasps arose from my friends. "He saved me then, and he also came when I screamed; he doesn't seem to realize that, in my eyes, what he did was heroic." I shook my head, trying to shove the fire back down to the controlled level it had been at. "Anyway, I told him that. That I felt he was a hero for what he did, even if no one saw the first act. And then . . ."

"What?!" Jinga encouraged, voicing the other girls' thoughts. "What happened?!"

"We sat down on the couch," I closed my eyes, seeing the same haunting memory, "and he leaned in to kiss me. I closed my eyes, and . . ." I was surprised at the tear that fell down my face, but continued, "the kiss never came."

"No!" Shina's expression was instantly saddened, and the other girls' heads began to swing slowly back and forth.

"Yes," I nodded, and Shina's arms wrapped around me in a hug. "He got up, saying he wouldn't get me into any more trouble, told me 'good night,' and I haven't spoken to him since."

"Oh, Talia," Jinga whispered, seeming to be at a loss for words. "That's terrible."

"He really did that to you?" Aiko, on the other hand, was up off her side of the bench and ready to rumble. "That good-for-nothing . . . If I was there, I would have given him a piece of my mind! _No one_ treats my friends like that, not ever!"

"Please, Aiko," I protested, sitting up and prying loose of Shina's arms. "It's me that's the issue; I was silly to think that I ever had a chance. You said so yourself: no one's ever been able to reach him."

"But you _did _reach him!" Aiko shot right back, beginning to move back and forth quickly in an odd circle. "_You_ said so _yourself!_ He almost kissed you! Nobody's ever gotten him to _look_ at them, let alone almost-kiss them!"

"But that's the point!" I laughed miserably. "I thought he _was_ going to kiss me, but he didn't. I'm just being selfish and childish." I stood up quickly, wiping away the few tears that managed to escape with the first. "If he didn't want to kiss me, then I shouldn't be moping around about it. I don't need him to be happy; I have you guys, my mom, manga and my music." I looked at the three of them individually before gathering up my bag and exhaling sharply. "I have homework to go do; I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Talia," all three of them attempted to catch my attention, keep me there longer, but I ignored them. I kept on walking to the front of the school, borrowed a kid's cell phone to call my driver, and then I was off home, staring out the window and not daring to think about what could have happened that night.

"Are you alright, miss?" I glanced up, drawn out of my thinking by a thickly accented voice. The driver was occasionally glancing up at me through the rear-view mirror, concern clouding his face. "You seem rather upset."

"I'm fine, thank you," I shook my head, attempting to smile. In the mirror, however, I really _did _look pitiful. "It's nothing major."

"Of course," he nodded, not really seeming to believe me. "As you wish." Without another word, he turned back to the road and I to my window. I forced back the tears threatening to spill over; why was I acting this way? Especially in front of someone else? I was perfectly fine; I didn't _need _a boy to be happy, and the fact that yet another boy didn't like me as I liked him shouldn't be so upsetting. I had been through this several times, yet none of the other times had ever evoked such a reaction out of me.

"Miss, we're here," the same voice drew me out of thinking, my head snapping around to see my house.

"Thank you," I answered. "I hope you have a nice day, sir."

"You too, miss," he smiled at me. "Whatever seems to be troubling you, I do hope it works out in your favor. You are a very kind person, and shouldn't be so miserable."

His statement took me aback for a moment, but I smiled at him. "Thank you. I hope it works out soon too." I turned towards my house, and after I was halfway there I heard the car head off, and once the sound of the engine disappeared, I rushed into my house. I threw my bag into its usual corner and dropped my books beside it. I hurried to my room, not knowing what else to do. I flopped onto my bed and cried. Not loud, obnoxious sobs, but simply letting all my pent-up feeling escape through my tears.

Something inside me still kept telling me to suck it up and move on, but there was a small, unwavering part that rebelled against the thought of moving on. I had moved to Japan against all odds of fitting in and managed to acquire three best friends, a menagerie of other friends and met the Host Club. One of those boys just so happened to show a liking for me, one that I almost instantly returned, and a few weeks ago I felt nothing could go wrong. I felt that this was where I _did_ belong; I'd never been so welcomed or liked in America; not ever. Yet, here I was, crying like a little kid because something didn't go my way.

Eventually I stopped crying, and I dried my face off with my limp pillow. I sat up, just thinking about what I could possibly _be_ thinking when my doorbell rang.

"No thank you," I called out in Japanese; there was this annoying kid who kept coming to our door to sell us these candied things – I didn't even know what they were – but we didn't have the spare money to buy extra stuff. All the same, the same adorable, seven year old girl kept coming to our door, but we had no choice but to send her away. "We can't buy any; I told you last week."

"You don't have to _buy_ anything!" A familiar female voice called back, and I almost crawled under my covers. _Not now!_ "We're here on a special mission!"

"Go away, Aiko," I called back. "I don't want to see anyone right now."

"Um, our best friend is _heartbroken, _and last I checked it was the job of best friends to make their best friends happy." Aiko called back, and I ultimately decided there was no way of making her go; by what she said, Jinga and Shina must have been in on this too.

"If I at least open the door, will you leave?"

"No!" The three musketeers cried out in unison, and I groaned, reluctantly getting off my bed and trudged down the hall to my front door. I slowly opened the door and almost slammed it shut. But the girls moved in, each carrying at least three boxes of who-knew-what.

"What is all that?" I asked, almost regretting the question once it came out of my mouth.

"This is our 'Make Talia Happy Again' equipment," Jinga explained briefly before plunging into the box on top of her pile. Aiko and Shina did the same, and I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples in attempt to will away my friends. _Go away,_ I thought over and over.

"Here." When I opened my eyes, I saw that I had failed. Shina was holding out a box of chocolate Pocky, her smile wide. "A little birdy told me that you love Pocky." I reluctantly took the box and opened it, eating three sticks within 20 seconds.

"Maybe," I mumbled around the chocolate biscuit treat. "What else did your 'little' birdy tell you?"

"That you enjoy playing Mario Kart on GameCube, enjoy watching the 13th episode of Fullmetal Alchemist and any form of Pokémon, and also enjoy playing Trash-ketball." Aiko revealed, pulling out the first season of FMA and several Pokémon videos. Jinga pulled out a stack of GameCube games – Mario Kart being on top – followed by extra controllers.

"How did you know I had a system already?" I questioned, looking at the stuff.

"We called your mom about a week ago, asking what we could have done to help once you did tell us what was going on." Shina revealed, adjusting her glasses slightly. "She gave us some of your basic likes, and we compiled our resources."

"You guys didn't have to do all this," I shook my head, smiling.

"Would you have done it for us? Even if we protested?" Aiko asked, her arms crossing and a smug smile spreading her face.

"If I had 'resources', then yes," I nodded, air quoting with my fingers. "You guys don't have to . . ." I trailed off as I spotted a bottle of nail polish in one of Jinga's boxes. "No," I immediately stated, backing away from the box like a vampire would back away from garlic or holy water.

"What?" Jinga asked, confused.

"There is no way on earth you are going to put _makeup_ on me. No thank you," I continued to back away.

"It's not like we're giving you a _total_ makeover," Aiko whined. "We're only planning on doing your face! We promise!"

"No!" I shouted, and then proceeded to run away from my three best friends, laughing while continuing to protest: "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

Well, eventually they caught me, and I reluctantly gave in; they went to all this trouble to try and cheer me up. The least I could do was to play along. Oh, and when Aiko said 'face', she really meant 'from the neck up.' Aiko did my hair while Shina and Jinga alternated on my face, changing every so often to swipe some brush or dab some sponge with makeup on me. I endured it silently, though I did laugh when Jinga attempted to put eyeliner on my spazzy eyelids.

When they finished, they shoved a mirror at me, and I have to admit that they did a great job. I'd never though I'd look this nice; maybe for homecoming or something, but not just for fun.

"Wow, you guys," I smiled, not wanting to touch my face in any way, shape, or form in fear of ruining their work well done. "I look great. I'd never dream of doing this myself."

"Well, that's what _we're_ for!" Aiko exclaimed, and we all laughed in agreement. After the whole makeup deal, we played some GameCube and ate Pocky; Shina had brought, like, 30 boxes of chocolate Pocky for us to munch on. I also womaned-up and made Ramen for dinner, which my friends graciously ate. To be honest, I don't think that they'd ever _had_ 'commoner's Ramen' before. But their expressions told me that at least they thought it was more than edible, which gave me satisfaction.

We goofed off the whole entire rest of the day; my mom had apparently given them permission to hang out until ten – since it was the weekend – and then they could come over tomorrow if they wanted. We did a whole bunch of girly stuff; we ended up painting each other's nails (thank goodness they had black in there), playing Truth or Dare, and we even showed each other how to play different games; the girls taught me how to play Ohajiki (which was basically marbles with added flat pieces of wood) and Shiritori (which was basically "First and Last" with the Japanese alphabet). We went outside for a little while where we played Tag and Hide-and-Seek, and once we grew tired we came back in, flopping down in my room on the floor.

"That was so much fun!" Aiko exclaimed, laughing with Shina, Jinga, and I.

"Yeah, that was," I agreed, attempting to breathe slower to return my heartbeat to normal.

"So, did we succeed?" Shina asked me, smiling.

"Succeed in what?" I looked to her, confused.

"In making you feel better; did we do a good job?"

"Yeah, you guys did," I nodded, getting victorious looks from all three of them. "Thank you so much; I don't know what I'd do if you guys weren't around."

"So, you _do_ realize that we'd do anything for you?" Jinga asked shyly. "Even though you were upset, we still wanted to help you."

"I know," I nodded. "I was just upset earlier, and I've never really had anyone at home to hang out with. I didn't want you to feel . . . _obligated_ to help me, I guess."

"You're so dense, Talia," Aiko sighed, shoving me playfully. We all laughed and I shook my head.

"Well, now that we've perked you up, we need to decide what we're going to do about you-know-who." Shina stated. "You can't just do nothing; the issue won't go away by itself."

"You said you've already tried talking to him, right?" Jinga asked, and I nodded.

"I've tried, but it's like I'm not even there. He just ignores me."

"Have you tried talking to Honey?" Shina suggested. "If you ask Honey to talk to Mori for you, you might get a better idea of what Mori's thinking."

"Would Honey be willing to do that?"

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Aiko piped up, shrugging. "You could even ask the other Hosts; I don't think Haruhi would object to helping. He's really sweet." I almost spoke up to correct Aiko, but I remembered that she didn't know that Haruhi was really a girl. So my mouth stayed shut.

"On Monday, I think you can pull Honey aside real quick and ask him to talk to Mori," Shina spoke, saying aloud what she was thinking. "You can still go to the Host Club, but request Haruhi instead; that way, you can still see Mori but be able to enjoy yourself all the same." She looked to me for approval. "What do you think, Talia? Do you think that could possibly help."

"It's definitely worth a try," I nodded. "I'll ask him on Monday if I don't see him sooner."

"Alright, ladies, group hug," Aiko ordered, gesturing for us to come to her. We all complied, and Aiko spoke over our heads. "We're going to get through this together, no matter what happens!"

"Yeah! Alright!" We all whooped in agreement, and as our get-together drew to an end and I waved goodbye to my friends as they rode off home, the thought of Mori didn't bother me. I had the greatest friends in the world, and with them, everything would turn out for the better; that I was absolutely certain of.

I headed back to my room, ready for a good night's sleep. I would speak with Honey in a few days, and hopefully this whole thing would be resolved easily. As I turned off my light and curled up under my covers, I smiled to myself, the memories of this afternoon playing more prominent over the one from a month ago. I closed my eyes and slept, nothing but happy dreams keeping me the whole night through. And, not once, did Mori's face penetrate my happy little bubble.


	11. Chapter 11

Here's a little 'Happy New Year' gift for all of you: another chapter! (^_^) School doesn't get back in until next week, so I'll hopefully have another chapter out before then. Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

-MJS

Talking to Honey the following Monday came and went quickly; I managed to pull him away from Mori before their first class, and Honey was glad to help me out.

"I've noticed Takashi's change in behavior too, but I didn't think that you had done anything wrong," he told me. "I'll talk to Takashi as soon as I can, okay?"

"That's fine," I nodded, smiling. "Thanks so much, Honey."

"You're welcome!" He smiled, and quickly turned when Mori called his name. "Bye!" With a cheery wave and gleeful grin, Honey ran off to rejoin Mori while I headed with Shina towards our first classes.

Throughout the whole day, I sat through my classes only half-paying attention. My mind was wrapped around the whole Mori thing again, but this time with a positive light. Honey _was_ going to talk to him; definite score for my team. But, what would Mori's response be? Would he be willing to open up to Honey? Or would there still be no clear answer? I shook my head slightly several times, determined to focus on classes on not on him. I didn't succeed.

Twice I was asked a question - embarrassingly enough, in the same class period - and didn't answer correctly, and after class the teacher even pulled me aside to ask if I was feeling alright. I reassured him quickly, and I made a conscious effort not to have the same thing repeat in my other classes. Not two classes later, however, I had to sit through my English class bound and determined not to pay attention to Mori at all. I actually almost spoke to Honey briefly before class, but the bell rang before that, and he sat down in his seat and I in mine, both with looks of disappointment, I was sure.

My teacher and I quickly went through my exam reviews and she left me with a practice test to complete. The class around me was also taking some form of test, but I had the strangest feeling as I did my own work that someone was watching me. I glanced up quickly from my paper, scanning the room from right to left, hoping to avoid Mori's gaze. It wasn't until I reached Mori, however, that I saw him looking at me.

I looked back at him, not sure of what to do. His eyes seemed . . . confused. Also saddened and longing. I smiled at him slightly, the small flicker of hope in my chest burning slightly brighter. He blinked at me, and then turned back to his work without any response. I swallowed down the grief that built up in my throat as I too turned back to my paper. _I don't _need_ him, _I reminded myself, but that same feeling of sorrow still remained. I managed to look up when Jinga was glancing back at me, and she mouthed to me, _What's wrong?_ I simply shook my head at her and turned back to my work again.

After I left that class, I thought I heard my name in the hall. I turned, expecting to see either Honey or one of the girls. No one was there, so I went to my next classes with that same disappointed feeling sitting in my chest. The image of Mori just staring at me still lingering in my head, taunting me. Why had he looked at me if all he was going to do was look away again? What was the point in any of it? Why was I _still_ so upset that he was doing this?

I eventually managed to focus around the memory and make it to class. I sat through it, just barely keeping my composure at a normal level so that people wouldn't pester me with questions. I sighed in relief when the final bell rang and the school day finally came to an end. I hurried from my last class to meet up with my friends in our usually meeting place. I was there early, of course, and I got teased for it when Shina and Aiko appeared first.

"Well, someone's a little anxious for the Host Club, huh?" Aiko giggled, and I shot them a sarcastic look.

"Shut up," I playfully stuck my tongue out, and a voice behind them made us all laugh.

"Very excitable _and _immature," Jinga appeared behind them, grinning. "Is there anyone else we know who has such a unique combination of traits?"

"Ha ha, very funny," I stuck my tongue out at her too, and received the same gesture back from her. "Let's just go, okay? I swear I'm going crazy; I can't stand it any longer."

"Everything will work out; you'll see." Shina smiled reassuringly, and Aiko and Jinga nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's get a move on, then." We headed off in our group for the third Music Room. My heart rate increased with anticipation, and I had to remind myself that I wasn't supposed to sit with Honey and Mori; I was to request Haruhi today so as to 'not draw suspicion', as Aiko had put it at lunch. We entered the room and I requested Haruhi as planned, but what threw me off was that neither Honey _nor_ Mori were in the room. _That's strange,_ I noted, but turned my attention back to Haruhi, sitting down at the table with four other girls.

"So, how are you today, Talia?" Haruhi asked, smiling sweetly at me.

"I'm doing better," I answered honestly. "I've been having kind of a hard time lately, but today I think things are going to turn around."

"That's great! I hope things work out for you," Haruhi – being as perceptive as I am – smiled genuinely, as in like a girl would to her best friend. "Are we allowed to know what's going on?"

"No," I smiled sadly at Haruhi and then to the other girls. "I'm afraid it's kind of a personal matter, but hopefully it'll be resolved soon."

"That's great," Haruhi nodded, and then turned her attention to another guest. From the sounds in the room, I couldn't decipher whether Mori and Honey had entered; why did I have to sit in the chair facing away from where they usually sat?

_It seemed like a good idea when I got here,_ I argued with myself – I really hate it when I do that – but soon Honey's chirping laughter sounded through the room, and I unexpectedly calmed some. I was able to focus on Haruhi better for some reason now that I knew that they were here.

The conversation at our table eventually included everyone; we all talked about our favorite school subjects for some reason, and then the subject suddenly switched to our favorite extra-curricular activities were. As I imagined, two of the girls said that visiting the Host Club was there favorite. The girl to my right said that she enjoyed playing her violin very much, and the one to my left said she enjoyed to garden.

"What about you, Talia?" Haruhi asked. "What do you enjoy doing after school's done for the day?"

"Well," I pondered it for a moment. "I do many things during the day that really aren't considered 'fun'; homework and such for the most part. But, I do really enjoy drawing and reading. I even have a piano back home that I took lessons for, but it was too big to take all the way to Japan, and we don't have any room for it in our little house." I thought about it some more, and I finally made up my mind. "My favorite thing to do, however, is to simply go outside and walk." I had all their attentions now as I continued, "It gives me time to think about different things; things that have been on my mind or just about life itself. I see so many incredible things when I go walking; it's like taking an adventure without really having to leave where you live."

"I've never though about it that way," the girl to my right commented. "I usually just go everywhere in my limousine when it suits me."

"But that takes the fun out of it," I pointed out. "Whether you're in a car or on some sort of vehicle, you have to simply _watch_ everything go by. If you go _out_ and enjoy it yourself, you experience so many different things that you would have never noticed if you were moving in a car going 60."

"That's a very interesting viewpoint," the girls to the left of me all smiled; the one closest to me had spoken. "Thanks for that, Talia. I don't think any of us would ever had thought of that."

"You're welcome," I smiled shyly. "It's just something I like to do for fun." The conversation at the table continued on without me, but I didn't mind. I simply sat, listening to the others tell stories and enjoying the simple feeling of being apart of the group.

It didn't seem long, however, that I had to leave for the day. With a round of good-byes to the people at the table, I headed for the door. I was sent off by Kyoya and Tamaki with courteous smiles, and as I returned them I reminded myself to not look back at Mori. I would wait until I could talk to Honey or until Mori came to _me_ and talked; trying to talk to him proved to be useless, and I wasn't going to force myself upon either of them.

I had made it down to the first level when I heard quick footsteps behind me. I didn't register that they were heading for me until a rough hand seized my shoulder sent me spinning around. I came face to face with a large-muscled boy with a cruel face and shaggy hair; he was more than likely a senior.

"Hey there, beautiful," he almost growled. My mind went blank; I didn't recognize the face, but soon the voice of the boy registered and I instantly froze. The boy standing in front of me was now all too familiar. He was the same boy from the cliff a month ago; judging by the red scar on his forehead, he was the one I had hit with the rock. Which meant he was the one who had thrown me off the cliff. My body couldn't decide what to do, but my brain finally recovered and decided to kick in.

"I'm sorry?" I answered, immediately attempting to wriggle free of his grasp.

"What's the rush?" he asked, his eyes cruel and his grip tightening. "I'm sure you have some time on your hands for _me, _don't you?"

"Let me go!" I wrenched my shoulder out of his grasp, screaming. "I don't know you! Leave me alone!" I attempted to run away and managed to head back some ways to the stairs, but he grabbed me by the arm again and threw me up against the nearby wall, shoving his gruesome face into mine.

"You listen here," he growled, his tight grip growing tighter as he spoke. "I'm not quite happy with that stunt you pulled at that party." I exclaimed in pain as the blood flow in my arm was slowly cut off. "I'm gonna make you pay for that; you see this?" He gestured vaguely to the mark on his forehead with a sharp nod of his head. "I'm gonna do the same twice over to you, and maybe even a little extra . . ." He squeezed my arm, and I screamed. Before I knew what had happened next, my leg shot upward, and the boy collapsed. Thankful that I had hit my mark, I ran as quickly as my legs would carry me back up the stairs; someone _had_ to be up there. I could find help there.

It wasn't long after I made it to the top of the stairs that I heard his pursuing footsteps. "I'm going to get you for that!" He hollered, and I continued running, not caring where I was headed.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed between breathes of air. I soon found a doorway and ran into it, slamming the door behind me and attempted to block it with some nearby desks. He pounded on the door, yelling various curses at me through the door. I discovered a second doorway farther down the room and attempted to run out there. I ran to it only to find him standing there, his face red with rage.

"Now you're gonna get it!" He grabbed onto my arm - the same stupid arm - pulling me back out into the hall. I screamed and screamed, desperately wishing that someone would hear me. And then, in an instant, his grip was gone and I had crumpled to the floor. I looked up to see the boy up in the air, held up by none other than Mori.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mori asked him, his voice low and menacing.

"Hey! Let go of me, you . . ." The boy was unable to finish as Mori threw him against a wall, knocking him unconscious. Mori looming above me, glaring down at the boy, his breath heavy; he must have run all the way here . . . wherever here was.

"Mori . . ." I whispered, and his head snapped instantly in my direction. He rushed over, helping me up by my good arm. I looked up to him, trying not to cry in front of him. "Thank God you were here," I whispered. "I don't know what would have . . ."

"Talia!" Honey's worried voice sounded down the hall, and I looked quickly to see him running towards me.

"Mitsukuni," Mori warned gently, "her arm is sore. Be careful." His voice sounded strained, but Honey didn't notice it.

"Are you going to be okay?" Honey asked, his eyes wide and fearful.

"I'm going to be okay, I promise," I smiled at him, hoping the fear that had frozen me moments ago wasn't showing now. "Does anyone else know what happened?"

"We heard screaming in the hall; there aren't very many guests left, so I was sent to investigate," Mori informed me, his tone not changing.

"Why don't you go let everyone know that I'm alright?" I suggested to Honey. "Tell them that I'm not in trouble anymore and that I'll be fine; can you do that for me?" Honey reluctantly nodded, and I held out my good arm to him. "Come here, Honey." He rushed to me, and I ignored the stinging in my bad arm as he hugged me tightly. "Everything's going to be alright," I promised him. "Please don't worry about me."

"Okay," Honey's voice was soft as he drew away and then sprinted down the hall - with Usa-chan in tow - back to wherever the Host Club was.

"You didn't call," Mori spoke, his voice a low, urgent whisper once Honey had disappeared from sight. He searched my face with his eyes frantically. "Why didn't you call for me?"

I turned to him, confused. "What do you . . ."

"On the cliff, you called for me. When he grabbed you then, you screamed my name. You didn't call for me this time." Mori's eyes were confused, worried, angered, and sorrowed all at the same time as they scanned my face. "Why, Talia?"

"Why?" I echoed, my voice hollow. "What do you mean . . .?" I then looked at him, my eyes narrowing. "Why didn't I _call_?" I retorted, my voice low, scathing. "You've been ignoring me for the past month!" Mori winced as I continued. "I've _been_ calling, Mori. I've called for you every day since that night. I wanted to make sure that _you _were still listening. You said you'd come anytime I called." My voice grew steadily weaker as I told him off. "Well, I've been trying to call to you for the past few weeks and have gotten no response." I inhaled deeply, but my exhale was very shaky. "It's like . . . I feel like I don't even exist to you anymore." I shook my head slowly, and his eyes widened in realization. "Yeah, Mori; every time I tried talking to you, every time I said 'hi' and you didn't respond, that was me calling and you not answering."

"I . . . didn't . . ." He looked around desperately for an answer to appear before him, but nothing came. "But . . ."

"You're so bound and determined to 'keep me safe', when all I really want is . . ." I trailed off, realizing what I was about to say. I wasn't sure if he knew what I had almost said as well. "I don't want to pester you, Mori. I don't want to follow you around like a love-sick puppy, or be another one of those adoring fan-girls who doesn't have a chance." I looked to him, my voice growing slightly steadier. "If there's any slight possibility that I have a chance, you need to tell me instead of . . . totally making me feel like I don't exist to you." I paused, taking some recovery breaths. The next sentence out of my mouth jumped out before I could stop it. "Back at the party, when you were about to kiss me . . . why did you stop?" His eyes widened. "Did you really want to kiss me?"

Mori's eyes were soon filled with that longing I saw back in English class. He hesitated before answering, "Yes."

"Then what stopped you?" My voice cracked, now _my _eyes searching _his _face for an answer.

"I . . ." Mori's head shook back and forth. "I didn't want to . . . I don't . . . I don't know." I exhaled, my head shaking back and forth as he continued, "Talia, I'm so sorry. I . . ."

"It's alright if you don't know," I cut him off. "I just need to know . . . is there any chance at all?" I looked to him desperately. "Is there anything left of what you felt back at the party?"

Mori froze, caught up in his own thoughts. His eyes finally registered me, and he slowly spoke, "I think you're incredible, Talia. I've never met anyone like you before. But . . ."

I looked to him, trying to piece together what he was attempting to tell me before answering, "But you're still not certain." He looked down at me, his expression helpless. I inhaled again, saying, "I understand." I turned away from him slightly, saying, "When you have an answer, let me know. Until then . . . all I can do is keep calling." I turned back and closed the distance between us and quickly hugged him, despite the throb in my arm. He was taken aback by it, I know he was, but I didn't care. "Thank you for saving me," I told him, and then let go. I wasn't surprised or upset when he didn't hug back; that would simply be asking too much. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright." Mori nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow." He walked with me back to the stairs in silence; he now knew what I was feeling, and all I could do was let him work it out himself. I wasn't going to try and convince him one way or the other; that was all up to him.

I made my way back down the stairs with a final wave to Mori, the dull throb in my arm signaling I was going to have a bruise on that arm for awhile. As I called my driver and went home, I thought about Mori's face, the way he had acted; he did like me. He said so himself. My heart flickered at this, but I shoved it back down. _All I can do now is wait._ I decided, taking a deep breath. _I don't need to worry about it anymore. He'll let me know when he's certain._


	12. Chapter 12

The next few days were much more bearable; instead of treating me like I wasn't even there, Mori occasionally responded to my waves in the hall and when we managed to catch each other's attention, we'd smile at each other. It was a definite improvement, though I didn't dare to get my hopes up yet. All I could do was keep doing what I was doing until he had made up his mind (which, personally, I found very irritating. Boys could be so stupid.) I even started sitting with Mori and Honey again when I visited the Host Club, although I didn't forget to sit with Haruhi once in awhile.

It wasn't until after I had talked to Mori, however, that I noticed the Gossip Squad growing more restless and on the offensive. Glares followed me down the hall and were shot at me during classes and at lunch that I hadn't noticed before. They began to openly tease me in front of other students, most of which didn't jump in with them, which I appreciated. There were those few students, however, whose laughter only encouraged them. I simply decided to continue ignoring them; I didn't notice it before and went on with life just fine, so there was no reason to get upset over their teasing now.

My plan of action would soon prove harder to stick to than I had originally planned; once she realized that her goons' attempts to aggravate me weren't succeeding, Chie decided to try to make me angry herself. She occasionally said some snide remarks when she was in a conversation with some other students while I was nearby, saying it loud enough to ensure that I'd heard but not any authoritative figure nearby did. She even took a step as to claim the seat next to Mori every day once I started sitting next to him again. I had to settle with sitting across from them, a tiny part of my heart resenting it a whole lot. It continued on in such a manner for a good two weeks; November was coming to a quick end, and soon December would be upon us with Christmas following right after. Turns out the school schedule in Japan is very different to the usual U.S. schedule; right after Christmas we would get out for our last break of the school year, and I didn't think I would see Mori until school got back in later in January. That would suck.

Then one day, out of the blue, Chie decided to test how far my patience would stretch.

I had arrived at the Host Club as usual with Shina, Jinga, and Aiko, and, as usual, Chie was sitting next to Mori, talking up a storm while Mori simply listened, nodding every so often to signal that he was following. I took a deep breath – as was now my custom before I headed over – and made my way to my usual chair across from them.

"Hello, Talia," Mori greeted me, which was unusual; usually, I greeted him first.

"Hi Mori," I smiled, nodding at him. "How are you today?"

"Good," he replied simply, and was cut off by Chie almost immediately.

"Hello Talia!" she smiled, her grin so fake I probably could have reached over and peeled it off of her face, smugness radiating off of her in thick waves. "How are you today?"

"I'm great. A little tired, but I'll manage." I answered, not as enthusiastic as she was. "How about you, Chie? How are things in your world?" I tagged on quickly; knowing to be as callous as she was would only make my day worse.

"I'm just fantastic!" she replied. "Everything's been well off for me." I wasn't going to take that as an insult, but the look she quickly shot at me instantly changed my mind, but I made sure to just roll my eyes and continue on the conversation.

"That's good," I nodded. I glanced down at my shoes, not sure what else to say to the girl that I had a growing dislike for, but Mori decided to start a conversation with me.

"What's been going on that makes you tired?" He asked quietly, looking at me and drawing my attention off of my feet.

"Just work and school; there's a lot more homework that's actually a challenge here than back home, and I've been working a lot more than usual."

"Working where?" Jinga asked, beating Chie to the punch and taking a glare for me.

"Around our neighborhood and others around us," I replied, smiling at my friend as silent thanks. "I do various work for others; babysitting, lawn work, stuff like that. Most people in our neighborhood are awfully busy, and when I have the time I go around and help out as best I can."

"That's really sweet of you," a girl beside Jinga commented.

"I do what I can," I shrugged. "Besides doing little things, I'm looking for a better job around town; it seems that I'm constantly filling out applications for various places. I've applied all over, but I'm still in school and haven't the time to get an actual job. Once school gets out, I'll have more time.

"Wait, I'm confused," Chie interrupted, a frown forming on her face. "So, you sweat for other commoners? As in do their yard work and such? Why don't they just hire regular workers to do all that?" I was about to answer her as kindly as my growing irritation would allow, but she beat me to it, mockingly answering her own question. "Oh, wait, that's right; they're _commoners._ They don't have enough money to hire a _professional._ They also can't do the job right themselves, so they have to hire someone else to do a second-rate job; cheap and convenient. Someone like you, right?

I closed my eyes, forcing my anger down as the girls around us gasped; even Mori gave a slight sound of shock. I ignored them all and looked straight at Chie, attempting to keep my face as passive as possible. Chie's gloating look of triumph told me I was failing miserably.

"Chie, that was very rude," I was surprised when the girl sitting next to Jinga spoke up, her voice hard. "What has Talia done to deserve a comment like that?" Jinga and another girl agreed with her, and Chie looked fakely surprised at them.

"Did I say something out of line?" she asked ever-so-innocently, her sincerity almost pure sounding. I took a deep breath, looked at the girls as to have them let up, and I looked back to Chie.

"I don't care what your opinion is of what I do for my temporary living, Chie, but I would greatly appreciate it if you kept your comments to yourself." I replied to her. "I'm _sure_ you didn't mean any harm, but all the same, if you wouldn't mind."

"Oh, of course," Chie replied, a begrudging note in her voice. I smiled a small, triumphant smile, but I knew that this battle was far from over. "Tell me, what do your parents do?" Chie immediately asked another question, almost desperate for another opportunity to dig at me.

"I'm actually here with my mom, and she works various jobs as well," I replied evenly. "She's a waitress at a small café near our neighborhood, but she also did some gardening projects when we first moved here. She's an excellent gardener; she has such a way with flowers." I reminisced about Mom's beautiful flower garden outside our house back home in the United States. "She's very skilled at growing roses and daffodils and bleeding hearts; all kinds of different flowers. I don't know how she does it; that gene was never passed on to me, unfortunately." I laughed, and everyone sans Chie laughed with me; I even got a small chuckle out of Mori. "Anything green I try to nurture ends up brown and shriveled." I paused a moment, and Chie seemed to want to say something shrewd, but nothing came to her, allowing me to continue with my explanation.

"My father is a very skilled builder; he builds all sorts of things and runs a furniture shop." I continued as memories of ornately carved chairs and tables and the smell of sawdust and wood finish seemed to engulf me. "He has a whole team of builders, and they all do such a great job on everything they make; they've even made some unique pieces for celebrities, though I'm not the one who told you that." I whispered teasingly, getting some more giggles.

"What kind of celebrities?" Chie asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Oh, no one immensely popular; mostly mayors of neighboring towns and the governor of Michigan; I think he even made a dining set for Jonathan Rand." I smiled, thinking about the set. "Now _that_ was an interesting character to meet. He was super cool and even signed a book of my brothers."

"Jonathan Rand?" Chie asked, disbelief plain in her voice. "Who's that supposed to be?"

"He's the author of the 'Michigan Chillers' and 'American Chillers' books." I explained. "They're very popular in America; sort of like horror stories for kids. He's very talented . . . so much so that my little brother loves him (and he's not one to read books, mind you.)"

"So, your idea of a celebrity is an author for children?" Chie scoffed. "That hardly seems extrodinary."

"Someone doesn't have to be super popular for me to consider them a celebrity," I told Chie, actually making eye contact with her. "It's what they do to everyone around them and how they are as a person; you can be really popular but be a total jerk to everyone, and that doesn't make you a celebrity by my standards." As my statement settled in, a slight gasp escaped from Chie, but I didn't receive the same reaction from the others as she did. And I shouldn't have anyway; if she really wanted to treat me like that in front of everyone, she should have _known_ that it was going to create a two-way street. "What?" I asked as innocently as she did, knowing what my comment sounded like. "What's the matter, Chie?"

"You . . ." Chie was about to tell me off then and there, but the others around us were also showing some form of feigned innocence, including Honey. Mori didn't say anything, which meant that no one was paying attention to what Chie was about to say. So she inhaled her nasty comment as Haruhi came over with a tray of tea.

"Would any of you ladies like some more tea?" she asked. I politely declined, but she walked over to Chie and Jinga, handing each of them a cup. As she turned back around, some unknown instinct told me I should move. And I was about to before Haruhi's torso moved forward ahead of the rest of her, and the tea tray slipped out of her hands and flew towards me. Not being able to move fast enough, I simply put my arms up to shield my face as hot tea splashed me and I was hit with the remaining tea cups and the tea pot. I managed to akwardly catch the tea pot in my lap so it wouldn't break, but the cups were not as fortunate. They smashed around my chair and the attention of the entire room was now focused on us.

"What was that for?" Haruhi whirled on Chie, her voice very upset. "Why did you trip me like that?"

"I didn't trip you!" Chie protested, but the girl next to Jinga stood up.

"Yes you did! I saw it!" She exclaimed. "Just as Haruhi was turning, Chie stuck her foot out!"

"I did not, you liar! She tripped over the rug!" Chie was in full denial, her face growing more angry by the second. As she and the girl stared each other down, I reached down to help Haruhi up, setting the tea pot in my lap on the table next to me.

"Are you alright, Haruhi?" I asked her, helping her to her feet.

"I'm fine, but what about you? Your uniform is ruined now." Haruhi looked at me dress, a sad expression on her face.

"It's just a uniform. It'll wash." I reassured her, and then turned to Chie. "I don't know why you don't like me, or why you're so bent on embarassing me in front of others, but you _will not_bring others in on this. Especially when they've done nothing to deserve it." I glared at her, and she returned the look with malice. "If you want to mess with me, then fine. Go right ahead. But you had _better _leave innocent people out of this. They shouldn't have to suffer just because you're jealous of me."

"Jealous?!" Chie stood up immediately, her face growing a nice shade of scarlet. "Me?! Jealous of a worthless, pathetic _commoner?_" She stormed at me, shrieking incoherently but was pulled away by none other than Mori.

"Tamaki," he spoke stiffly, and the Host King soon appeared.

"I'm sorry, Miss Utada," Tamaki looked to her, his tone apologetic. "But you are no longer classy enough to be a guest here at the Host Club. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave until you can be kind and civil to everyone here; Hosts and guests alike."

"What? You can't do that!" Chie protested farther, and then looked pleadingly to Mori. "You wouldn't let them kick me out, would you? Mori?" She tried to look as sweetly as she could at him, but the damage had been done.

"Goodbye Chie," Mori said simply, slightly pushing Chie into the arms of Tamaki, who guided her out of the Host Club.

"This isn't over, Robinson!" Chie shreeched over her shoulder, her eyes livid. "Some day, I _will_ get you! And not even your precious _Host Club _will be able to protect you! You . . . you commoner!" She proceeded to call me names and even decided to cuss me out as Hikaru and Kaoru helped Tamaki help Chie to the door and dismissed her. She whirled around, still swearing to high Heaven when I stood and glared at her, silencing her for the briefest of moments.

"No matter what you say or do to me, Chie, I'll always have my friends _and_ the Host Club on _my_ side. Bring it on." I declared, and before she could get in another word, the door was closed in her face, and she eventually stormed off to nobody-cared-where. I sighed a breath of relief, and Honey immediately spoke up.

"You're so brave, Lia-chan!" he cried out. "Yay for Lia-chan!" After he had spoke, everyone in the Host Club applauded for me. A blush bloomed furiously across my face, and I attempted to shake my head.

"It was nothing, really," I attempted to dismiss what had just occured. "She's not the first bully I've encountered, and I'm positive she won't be the last."

"But you stood your ground even when she got scary," Honey pointed out. "You're a hero!"

"I seriously doubt that . . ." I smiled when Tamaki came back over to our group.

"I have to say, I'm very impressed by the way you handled her." He told me, smiling. "You kept your composure when she could not, and in the end you came out on top."

"But their war is far from over," Mori spoke up. "Chie _was_ the one to let those boys into the party; there's not telling what she'll try and do next."

"Then you should watch out for Talia; you see her the most of all of us, don't you?" Tamaki asked, and Mori nodded slightly.

"Aiko, Shina and I can help too," Jinga stood up. "We hang out with her almost all the time, even if it's not at the same time; there's usually one of us with her."

"Guys, I don't need protecting," I shook my head. "Look, you're all fantastic, I'm so glad that you guys feel you have to help, but you don't."

"But we want to help," Honey protested, causing many of the people to nod in agreement. "You're special to us, Lia-chan. We want to help."

"Yeah," I turned to see Mori nodding. "We want to help."

"Alright; I won't stop you," I smiled. "But please: don't go overboard."

"It's settled then," Tamaki declared. "We will help protect Talia at whatever cost! Men, we will have a discussion after we close today." And with that, everyone returned to their regular seats and Mori patted to the seat next to him.

"Would you like to sit next to me?" he asked.

"I'd love to," I answered, looking at the seat, "but I should really go home and change out of this." I gestured to my semi-wet uniform. "I can come back right after, but I think I'd better get this washed first."

"Alright," Mori nodded in understanding. "Let me walk with you to the steps." He rose from his seat, even though I attempted to protest. I gave up and turned - after being shot an excited look from Jinga - walking out with Mori to the front of the building.

"You know, you _are_ a hero," Mori stated as we stood waiting for my driver.

"What makes you think that?"

"You came to this school from a whole other country, not knowing a single person, but you've made a difference in several people's lives." He looked at me, and I looked up at him. "Mitsukuni, for example," he smiled, looking up to the sky as he talked. "He's always talking about you and all the things you do for others."

"Does that make me the only nice person?" I asked half-sarcastically. "I do that all the time at home. It's just what I do."

"Well, it's extraordinary to Mitsukuni," Mori shrugged. "I think you're extraordinary too." I looked up at him, even though he didn't move. "You've managed to stand up to one of the nastiest girls I've ever met, and you're even nice to her . . . well, most of the time." I laughed and so did he; the sound was unique, a deep throaty chuckle. "And you've managed to make friends with all of the Host Club."

"I'm not sure that Kyoya or either of the twins are really 'friends' with me." I pointed out. "I've never really spoken to them."

"Well, you definitely have earned their respect." Mori finally looked back down at me, his eyes brighter than usual. "Mine especially." I looked up at him, and that same flickery hope danced in my chest. The beeping of a car horn grabbed both of our attentions, and my driver waved at me.

"I'll see you later, right? You're not gonna run off on me?" I asked him teasingly.

"I'll be here," he smiled. "Be safe, Talia."

"You too, Mori," I smiled, turning reluctantly from him. "I'll see you in a bit." I headed down the steps, and as I drew closer, my driver's eyes grew wide.

"Good heavens, miss," he said, opening my door for me. "Whatever happened to your uniform?"

I looked up at Mori as I stopped by the open door, smiling one last time. He returned it as I answered, "It's a long story, sir. I'll tell you about it on the way home." And that's just what I did. I discovered that my driver was exceptionally nice and that I could talk easily to him. We talked about the whole episode, and he nodded in approval.

"Good for you," he praised. "It takes a lot of courage to stand up to adversity in such a way. You are an exceptional young lady, Miss Robinson."

"Thank you, Mr. Ito," I smiled. "You are a wonderful driver; I enjoy talking with you."

"And I with you," he smiled as we pulled up to my house. "Here we are, miss." He was about to jump out and open the door, but I reached for his shoulder just in time.

"I just need to get changed real quick; is it possible you could wait here? I'd like to head back to Ouran when I come back."

"Of course," Mr. Ito nodded, and I dashed into the house. As I switched clothes and wrote a quick note to my mom, I imagined what the Host Club was like when they weren't serving guests. I thought about this until I arrived back at Ouran. As Mr. Ito drove off, I pulled out my little card, smiling to myself. Mori was standing on the steps now with Honey beside him, and I waved at them as I made my way up the stairs to meet with them. _Here we go._


	13. Chapter 13

I apologize for the long wait! I had a bit of writer's block on how to work this into the story, but I think I've done it! Thank you so much for your patience!

-MJS

Mori, Honey and I all walked up to the third music room in a little pod, Honey chattering the whole entire way with me while Mori listened. Honey chattered all the way about how much fun the Club was even when they didn't have guests around to entertain. He said that the Host Club went on all sorts of different adventures and that they were all a lot of fun.

"That does sound like a lot of fun," I nodded. "Are you guys planning on having anymore adventures soon?"

"I don't know," Honey pondered as we reached the top of some stairs. "What do you think, Takashi? Do you think we could ask Tama-chan if we could have an adventure sometime soon?"

"We could," Mori nodded thoughtfully. "But knowing Tamaki, there can be an adventure at any time."

"True," Honey agreed, smiling. "Would you want to come on an adventure with us, Lia-chan?"

"If I wasn't intruding, then sure, that sounds like fun," I agreed. "But, I don't really think I want to head anywhere out of the ordinary anytime soon." I flashed a look to Mori, who nodded slightly in agreement. My little adventure at the beach still hadn't totally left my fears, and even though it sounded like a lot of fun, I was content with staying around home for now.

"Agggh! Leave me alone!" The familiar voice of Haruhi sped by us, as did Haruhi herself.

"Haruhi?! What's the matter?" I managed to catch her attention and stopped her momentarily.

"I can't stop!" she explained, looking around frantically. "I need to hide!" I glanced around as well, seeing a slightly opened door.

"Come on," I grabbed her wrist and led her to the door, shoving her in and closing it behind her. "Make sure to lock the door!" I hissed through it, returning to my position between Mori and Honey. "Let's get going, you guys!" I said enthusiastically. "The day's not getting any younger!" I put my fingers to my lips in a silent 'Sh' and began moving forward. No sooner did we start moving again did Hikaru and Kaoru appear, running towards us.

"Hey, have you seen Haruhi?" The twin on the right asked first.

"We're pretty sure she ran down this way," the twin on the left spoke afterward, but I simply shrugged my shoulders.

"Sorry, but we haven't seen him." I answered, and Honey and Mori played along without any help. "I thought I heard someone running around downstairs, though. He might be down there." The twins nodded to each other and then dashed off in the direction that we came from. Honey had to refrain from smiling as the twins rushed off, and once their footsteps had faded away I went back to the door that Haruhi locked herself into and rapped on the door softly.

"Are they gone?" Haruhi's voice barely drifted through the door, and I smiled.

"Yes; they've been sent off downstairs so you can escape." I stood back as the sounds of a chair scooting across the floor signaled that Haruhi was about to appear, which she did not a moment later.

"Thanks a lot," she smiled. "That was close."

"You're welcome," I smiled, and then Honey and Mori appeared behind me.

"Hello, Haru-chan!" Honey greeted, smiling widely. "Why were Hika-chan and Kao-chan chasing you?"

"I didn't catch exactly why, but I'm not sure I want to find out either." Haruhi answered, looking exhausted. "I should probably get back to the music room before Tamaki wonders where I've gone."

"You can head back with us," I suggested. "I doubt Hikaru and Kaoru will be back anytime soon. What do you say?"

"Sure," Haruhi shrugged. "If you guys don't mind then I don't care." And with our final addition to the group, we made our way up to the Host Club's domain without any more interruptions. When we finally got into the room, Kyoya was typing away on his laptop while Tamaki was frantically pacing. He looked up when we entered, his eyes widening.

"Oh, hey you guys. I'm glad that you're here Talia," he smiled. "Once the twins are back then we can start planning on how to keep you safe from Chie."

"After today, I really don't think that she'll try to attack me anytime soon." I pointed out. "You really don't have to worry so much."

"Not here in school, no," Kyoya spoke up, not looking away from his laptop. "But outside of school, you really don't have anyone or anything to protect you from being targeted. You must remember; many students here have parents who work within Ouran Academy itself. Like your friend Shina; her mother is a secretary, so she has access to all student records."

_How did he know about Shina's mom?_ I thought to myself, but I simply shoved the question away into my 'Doesn't Matter' box. There was a whole lot I didn't know about these boys, so there was no point in puzzling myself over one little detail.

"So, there's a good chance that Chie will know where I live?" I looked from Kyoya to Tamaki and back again.

"Probably, but you should be fine. Chie isn't dumb in most aspects of the word and she won't try to attack you when you have friends around."

"That's why I am going to assign you guards whenever you're here at school," Tamaki declared. "Mori-senpai, you will be her guard in whatever classes you share. Kyoya, you will escort her from classes in the morning and I shall escort her and her friends to the Host Club."

"Shouldn't that be up to Talia to decide?" Haruhi piped up. "After all, she _is_ the one who is getting 'protected.'"

"Do you want protection, Talia?" Tamaki quickly asked, turning to me for confirmation. "I wouldn't dream of forcing help upon you if you did not wish it."

"If it makes you feel better, then I guess I really don't care either way. Just so long as I'm not absolutely _surrounded_ at all times." I crossed my arms. "I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, but I wouldn't mind a couple people around."

"Of course not," Tamaki nodded in agreement. "That sounds perfect." I mentally rolled my eyes as to not offend Tamaki, but I couldn't suppress a sigh. I really didn't think I was going to need the protection, but the same slightly anxious faces that I saw that day on the beach made me not want to refuse.

"Who do you want to be your guards?" Tamaki's voice drew me out of my thinking and I glanced around the room.

"It really doesn't matter to me," I shrugged again. I glanced to Mori and Honey first, since they were the Hosts that I saw most often. "Would you guys mind being my guards?"

"Sure," Mori nodded.

"Okay!" Honey agreed, cheering. He gave me a little salute while still clinging to Usa-chan. "We can do it!"

"And if you wouldn't mind, I'd like Haruhi to also be one of my guards." I looked to her; she seemed to just kind of sit away in her own little space, simply listening to the conversation besides her one little comment. "Would you mind, Haruhi?"

"No, I wouldn't mind at all," she shook her head. "I could sit with you and your friends at lunch if you wanted."

"That'd be great," I smiled at her. "Thanks."

"And while you are at the Host Club, we will always keep an eye out for any suspicious characters." Tamaki decided. "There; you should be safe while you are here at school."

"Thanks you guys," I smiled. "It's really sweet of you all to want to help me like this." I smiled at all of them. I glanced over at the nearby clock tower, signaling that five o'clock was drawing near. My mom wouldn't be home anytime soon, so I turned back to Mori and Honey; the other Club members had gone back to whatever they had been doing before we had arrived, and I was just about to ask Honey a question when Hikaru and Kaoru came back, glancing from me to Haruhi and back again.

"You!" they exclaimed in unison. "You tricked us!"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, putting on my best confused face.  
"You told us you hadn't seen Haruhi, yet here you are with her—uh, him." Hikaru spluttered, fumbling in his speech and sending the rest of the room silent. Honey gasped slightly, but before I can say anything, Haruhi stood up.

"It's alright, you guys," she stated. "She knows. I told her awhile ago; she hasn't told anyone, either." They all looked at Haruhi, and then slowly to me.

"I guess that cat's out of the bag now," I sighed sarcastically, and Haruhi and I laughed together.

"Haruhi?! You told someone that you were a girl? You could have spoiled the whole thing!" Tamaki scolded, his face growing slightly redder with each word.

"Listen, Senpai, I'm glad I told her," Haruhi said, crossing her arms. "If I hadn't, I wouldn't have anyone to confide in outside the Host Club." She looked to me, and I smiled.

"Tell you what, I have some extra time lying around if you want to just chat," I told her, smiling at Tamaki's expression. "We'll let the boys have their own fun; I promise I won't bore you with all that girly nonsense. We'll just talk as friends."

"You know what, I think I'd really like that," Haruhi smiled as I stood. "Let's go!"

"Go?!" Tamaki protested, attempting to stop Haruhi with his arm. "Go where?"

"Anywhere there are no boys around, duh!" I teased, grabbing Haruhi's arm before Tamaki could. "What's the point of girls talking if there are boys around?" I looked to Haruhi and smiled. "Come on, Haruhi. Let's blow this pop-stand." I laughed at her quizzical look before we ran out of the Host Club, leaving a dumbfounded Tamaki behind.

"Where are we going?" Haruhi asked as we ran.

"To the choir room!" I whispered, hoping that the boys weren't following us. "That's the best place I know of for secretive talk." Haruhi laughed at my explanation as we ran down the hall; I'm sure that Haruhi had never really had any girls to talk to about anything because of her secret, so I decided this would be the best time. We ran down to the music room, continuously glancing over our shoulders to ensure that we weren't being followed. We made it down to the choir room in no time, and once we were inside I locked the door with a chair, simply ensuring that the handle couldn't be turned.

"So, you really just want to hang out with me?" Haruhi asked as I moved over by her, sitting down next to her by the piano. "I was sure that you wanted to hang out with Mori-senpai."

"What made you think he's the only one I wanted to see?" I asked, glancing at her nervously.

"Well, it's not obvious that you really like him," Haruhi simply stated, smiling at me. "That was obvious back at the beach. Yet I understand why he was so hesitant."

"You . . . saw that?" I asked, positive that my face was turning red.

"Yeah, I did." Haruhi seemed ashamed to admit it. "I shouldn't have spied, I'm sorry . . ."

"It's alright," I assured her. "It probably won't happen again, but I can always hope."

"Do you have any idea why he didn't?" Haruhi asked, and when I shook my head she continued, "Well, I think I might have some idea."

"Really?" My eyes widened slightly. "What do you think it could have been?"

"Well, Mori-senpai's always been very protective of Honey-senpai," Haruhi stated, looking out the window. "Honey-senpai has always been the most important person in the world to Mori; I think that Mori-senpai hesitated because he was worried that if he grew attached to you, he might not be as attentive to Honey-senpai as he feels he should be."

As Haruhi spoke, Mori's words from the beach house came back to me: "I feel I am supposed to always protect Mitsukuni, but today I feel I have done the wrong thing _by_ protecting Mitsukuni."

"I think you're right," I told her. "He told me then that he thought he was doing the right thing by going with Honey after Shina and I went exploring, but then he felt that he had done the _wrong thing by going with Honey and not me once the accident occurred."_

"Well, that there proves that he does have feelings for you, but he doesn't know what to do about them yet." Haruhi smiled, causing me to smile back at her.

"Thanks, Haruhi," I smiled. "I promised I wouldn't talk to you about super-girly stuff, but I'm glad that you said something to me. He's been definitely not being as cold as he was right after that day, but I'm still worried that he'll never like me as much as I like him." With a small sigh, I looked to Haruhi. "Well, then, enough about my problems. We came here to talk about you; so . . . how did you manage to score a scholarship here?"

From there on out, we talked solely about Haruhi; about her family, about what she liked and didn't like about Ouran (she thankfully avoided the subject of the Host Club until I asked) and then how in the world she got tangled up with the Host Club.

"Well, I was actually looking for a place to study when I stumbled into the Music Room," she explained. "While in there, I accidentally broke a Renaissance vase that they were going to auction off at eight million yen."

"Eight million?" I repeated, my eyes widening.

"That was my reaction," Haruhi nodded, smiling. "I first was their 'dog'; completing errands for them and stuff like that. Then they decided that I was attractive enough to be a Host, and required that I get 100 people to request me and then I would have repaid my debt."

"Well, shouldn't you be done then?" I asked. "Seeing as you see so many people everyday, surely you've hit 100 by now."

"Well, one of Tamaki-senpai's customers became jealous of me, and she attempted to get me in trouble. That incident raised the quota to 1,000, and I've been apart of the Host Club ever since."

"Wow," I smiled at Haruhi, "that's incredible. You are an amazing person, and a brave one at that to put up with all of them _all the time_." We laughed in unison, and Haruhi shrugged.

"They're really not that bad once you get adjusted to their personalities," she commented. "Sure, they're all certifiably insane, but I think that's what keeps them together." Her gaze drifted off. "They all get along well together, even though they may all be different." I watched for a little while, and then glanced out of the window at the clock tower.

"Yikes!" I stood up quickly in my seat. "I've got to get going; it's almost 6:30!" I looked to Haruhi, who had snapped out of whatever vision she'd been in. "You want me to head back with you to the music room?"

"You don't have to," Haruhi stood as well, but before I could turn around back towards the door Haruhi stopped me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, Talia. I'm glad I had a chance to talk with you; if Mori ever comes around, he'll be a lucky guy."

"Thank you," I blushed, grabbing Haruhi's hand and giving it a friendly squeeze. "I'm glad we could talk to. We should do this more often."

"We should." With Haruhi's last agreement, we then left the choir room, quickly heading back to the music room where my stuff - and the Host Club - waited. We made it there in record time, and Tamaki was _still _pacing when we re-entered the room.

"There you are, Haruhi!" he exclaimed. "Daddy's been worried sick about you! Don't you ever run off like that again!"

"Daddy?" I whispered, struggling not to smile.

"It's a rather long explanation," Haruhi whispered back, her eyes rolling. "You need to leave, remember?" she reminded playfully, shoving me towards my stuff. I giggled as I headed over to where Honey was playing with Usa-chan and Mori was reading a book.

"Lia-chan!" Honey exclaimed, jumping up as I approached. Mori quickly looked up from his book, and to my surprise his eyes lit up. "Where did you go?"

"That is me and Haruhi's little secret," I stated simply, gathering up my bag and books. "And it's going to stay that way until we decide otherwise." I looked to Haruhi for approval, and she nodded. I smiled and then turned to the rest of them. "I'm afraid I have to shove off; if I don't get home soon I might get grounded."

"Do you really have to go?" Honey asked, his eyes pleading as he looked up at me.

"Yes, Honey, I'm afraid I do," I placed a hand on his head, smiling sympathetically. "But we'll see each other again soon, won't we?" I squatted down next to him, looking at him at eye-level. "Tomorrow's not that far away; it grows closer with every second." I stood up straight as Honey hugged me, and I hugged him back. "See? It's already five seconds closer!" Honey laughed at my expression and I laughed with him before waving to the rest of the club. "See you all tomorrow, alright?"

"Tomorrow it is," Tamaki nodded, smiling. "Goodbye, our dear Talia." I paused when he said 'our', but as I looked around the room I discovered he was right. Every member of the Host Club - even Kyoya and the twins - were smiling at me, a trace of sadness in their eyes. I smiled back at them all, a warm happiness filling my heart.

"Goodbye, everyone. Until we meet again." With that final statement, I left the music room and made my way downstairs.

The whole way out, I pondered the looks I was given in the room; the conversation in the choir room with Haruhi; the way Mori's eyes lit up when he saw me. I had never seen myself as a spectacular person; I was always the quiet, shy girl who made friends easily and was nice to everyone no matter what issues they had with everyone. But, I'd never had any real 'concrete' friends, as my mom called them, that I knew would stick with me anywhere. That would stick up for me and be my stronghold when I needed one. Now that I was here in Bunkyō, which surprisingly happened to be in Tokyo, Japan instead of back home, I had found those concrete friends I had longed for.

It wasn't long before I had made my way to the front steps and had called my driver to come and get me. As I headed home, I talked to my driver, but all the same that same warm, fuzzy feeling of friendship that I now had with Shina, Jinga, Aiko, and the Host Club, never once left my heart.


	14. Chapter 14

I am a horrible person, leaving you all on edge for so long. My life has been a whirlwind as of late, and I apologize for leaving this unfinished. It is officially Spring Break, so I will do my best to ensure that I get some more chapters done this week. Thank you so much, once again, for reading my little story. It really means the world to me that people actually like my stories!

-MJS

The 'guards' I had been assigned turned out to be a really smart thing to do; several times throughout the next couple weeks proved to be almost-disastrous. My locker had been booby-trapped more than once with either falling streamers or glue plastered on the tumbler, as well as various tripping attempts and spit ball shootings. Half of the attempts I was victim to, the other half was taken by my guards who spotted it a mile away. At lunch several times our usual sitting spot was overrun with Chie and her goonies, which only caused us to move somewhere else. I was slightly annoyed, but knew that all the stuff that Chie was trying to pull wasn't worth getting upset over. As Chie began to notice that her attempts to get back at me weren't succeeding, it only fueled her even further, almost to the point of obsession.

The worst prank she attempted to pull was the day before we were leaving for break; I had just lost my job at the delivery depot I had since starting school, and I was now currently scrambling to finish my school work to free up some time to find a new job to help cover our bills. My guards were still dutifully by my side almost anywhere I went; Tamaki had surprisingly taken up the majority of the watch-time when he could when Mori couldn't. We were actually walking into lunch when the worst prank happened, and I'm pretty sure that the experience will probably scar me for the rest of my life.

"Well, Talia, how were your classes so far today?" Tamaki asked as we stood in line for food.

"It was great," I smiled at him, glad that I had grown accustomed to his flamboyant ways and got to know him for real. "Nothing exciting has happened so far, so I'd say that Chie's finally learned her lesson."

"Let's hope so," Tamaki agreed as we pulled up to the front of the line. I selected a type of noodle dish that I had grown extremely fond of while Tamaki selected a similar dish with some form of bird being the main portion. Before we were able to leave, however, Chie popped up beside us, smiling just as big as could be.

"Hey there, Talia," she greeted, sounding different than usual. "How are you today?"

"I'm good," I answered warily, smiling half-back.

"That's good!" she crowed, and I glanced at Tamaki, who had not taken his eyes off of Chie. "Well, I wanted to let you know about this _great _new dish they're serving here. Look," Chie pointed to some form of dessert, which did looking very appetizing. "It has berries and all sorts of healthy stuff in it; would you like me to get you one?"

"Uh, no thanks, Chie," I shook my head. "No type of berry really agrees with me, so I think I'll pass."

"Are you sure? They're really good," Chie persisted, attempting not to sound desperate but her voice was strained.

"Positive," I nodded. "Thank you, though."

"I think I'll take one," Tamaki spoke up finally, smiling ever so kindly at Chie. "Will you please hand me a plate?" Something like fear flashed in Chie's eyes, but she soon recovered, doing as Tamaki had asked.

"Sure, here you go."

"Thank you very much," Tamaki smiled again, and then looked to me. "Let's go, Talia."

"Sure," I nodded, and then turned back to Chie. "Bye Chie."

"See you around," she agreed slowly before turning around and quickly heading back to her group of goons. I looked at Tamaki, and he just shrugged, not knowing what Chie's deal was either.

We went to our usual table – for some reason all of the girls were absent today, so it was just him and I – and began to eat our meals, talking about what we hoped to do over our break for the most part. Tamaki went on about the Host Club as usual, and about what he hoped that the club would do during their winter break, ranging from having a Christmas party to just hanging out at the school together. I was surprised when he mentioned me.

"Would you be willing to join us?" he asked, pausing from eating. I was in the middle of chewing when he asked, and the question took me so off guard I almost inhaled my food.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," I answered, after recovering from my near-episode. "Would you really want me there?"

"Of course you're wanted," Tamaki stated matter-of-factly. "You're a wonderful person to be around, and I don't think that the other members would be against it . . . especially not Mori-senpai," I paused from eating as he continued speaking, caught off-guard by what he was saying, "or, for that matter, Honey-senpai and Haruhi. They value your friendship very highly; I see it everyday in them, as well as Kyoya and the twins. I, too, believe you to be a friendly, caring person and a wonderful guest to have at the Host Club everyday." He looked at me, his violet eyes sparkling with his usual intensity.

"Really?" I set my fork down, looking at him. "You mean that?"

"I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true." Tamaki smile and continued to eat, and after a moment I too continued, a warming happiness filling my heart. "Well, I suppose it's time to try that dessert that Chie insisted you had." He laughed, bringing me back to the present. He took a bite of the little cake, and he beamed. "She was right," Tamaki looked down at the little cake. "It is an exquisite dessert indeed. I wonder how . . ." Before Tamaki could ponder any longer we were soon distracted by a loud shriek and the sound of someone falling.

"Help! Somebody help!" A girl cried out, and immediately Tamaki and I shot up from our seats, wanting to get a glimpse of what was happening. A boy was laying on the floor, violently twitching, traces of vomit around him. I winced at the sight, and immediately people swarmed around him, blocking him from sight. Raised choruses of 'What happened?' and 'Somebody, get help!' arose everywhere until the room was filled with anxious clamor.

"What do you think happened?" I asked Tamaki as the crowd eventually parted on one side to allow a medical team through.

"I'm not sure," Tamaki answered, his voice only half here as he pondered. Before long, the noise died down, yet hushed murmurs still filled the air. "It may have been something he . . ." Tamaki slowly trailed off, his eyes locked on something on a nearby table. I followed his gaze to a small plate, and I gasped when I saw what was on it; a neat, half-eaten cake identical to the one that Tamaki had taken a bite out of.

"Oh, no," I gasped, rushing over without Tamaki. I snatched up the plate before anyone else could and turned to the next person I saw. "That boy that fell, did he eat any of this?"

"Yes," a boy spoke up next to me. "He was going on about how great it tasted before he became sick." I looked over at Tamaki, who was now doubling over in pain, looking as though he too would begin to retch in the cafeteria.

"Tamaki!" I exclaimed, taking the plate of cake with me and placing it down beside me on a table. "Are you alright?" I stepped back as Tamaki too threw up, attempting to hold it in and convulsing in the process. I patted his back, trying to help him when he eventually turned his head towards me.

"The . . . cake. . ." Tamaki managed to splutter. "Something's . . . wrong . . . with . . ."

"I know," I nodded, trying to keep my hand on his back for support. "Chie did something to those cakes, but one accidentally got out in the open." I glanced around to see a nurse checking to see if anyone else was sick. "Over here!" I called, grabbing her attention. Her eyes widened when she saw Tamaki, and I attempted to explain what had happened. "The first boy ate half of this," I said, pointing out the cake beside me, "and Tamaki ate only a bite of the one he had. We believe that the cause of illness is something in the cakes."

"Please bring those with us," the nurse softly ordered. "I will have a closer look at them once we're in the my office." I nodded in acknowledgement and scooped up the plate next to me and swiftly snatched up the plate where Tamaki had been sitting before I heard a voice behind me.

"Talia?" Mori's voice made me turn around quickly, almost spilling the cake everywhere. He rushed over to help, steadying my hands while I steadied my body.

"Mori!" I exclaimed once I recovered my balance. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't here today!"

"I had an appointment earlier," he stated simply. "What's wrong with Tamaki?"

"I think Chie might have poisoned these cakes, because she tried to give one to me, but I said no, and then Tamaki took one and so did another boy. Now they're both sick." I explained quickly. "Come with me; I'll explain the rest on the way there." We followed the nurse to the nurse's station, Mori helping the nurse to support Tamaki while I filled him on the details of the lunch period so far. When arrived at the station, I was surprised to see a man waiting for us. He was overseeing the first boy when we entered, and his eyes widened when he saw Tamaki.

"Is he sick as well?" he asked, seeming very worried about Tamaki.

"Yes," I answered, drawing his attention to me. "They both ate similar cakes which may have been poisoned on purpose, and I believe I know who may have been behind such a malicious joke."

"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "What were you doing with my son?"

"My name's Talia Robinson, Mr. Suoh," I introduced briefly. "Tamaki was …"

"Tamaki was watching over Talia because there is a student here who has been very rude to her." Mori intervened, grabbing the man's attention and I was surprised when it softened. "She is a regular guest at the Host Club, and Talia believes that the person who poisoned the cakes intended for Talia to eat one."

"She approached me with one," I nodded, "but I turned it down. Tamaki, however, accepted." I looked over at my 'guard'; he had been laid on a bench and was breathing steadily, although his brow was drenched in sweat and his face twitched every now and then. "Now I wish that he hadn't; no one else should have to suffer just because Chie has an issue with me."

"May I see those please?" the nurse spoke up from Tamaki's bedside, and I quickly nodded, taking both cakes over.

"I don't know if any other one's were poisoned," I explained, "but I think it would be best to check."

"You're right," Tamaki's father nodded in agreement. He then whipped out a cell phone – much like Kyoya would do – and dialed a number rapidly. He moved over to a corner of the room, talking quickly and quietly to whoever was on the other line.

"Will he be alright, ma'am?" I asked the nurse, and as she examined the cakes, she nodded.

"I'm not familiar with the substance in these cakes, but they are certainly not meant for human consumption," the nurse answered, avoiding the question. "They appear to be some form of cleaning agent; I do not know whether the one boy will be alright or not, but since Mr. Suoh only took a bite, I'm sure he will be fine. I'll have one of the chemistry teachers come down immediately and examine these as well. There's already an ambulance on the way for the other student, however; this could be very serious indeed."

"See?" Tamaki commented, still weak from his body's sudden repulsion of whatever was in the cakes. "l'll be just fine; I just need some rest is all. No harm done."

I glanced quickly at Mori, who was focused on Tamaki, and then looked back at Tamaki. I shook my head in aggravation but before I could see whether either of the boys had looked back at me, I rushed out of the room, desperate to get away any way I could. I ran down the hall, ignoring everyone around me. I had to find somewhere to be alone; the anger and rage boiling inside me wouldn't be contained for very long.

I eventually came to an empty classroom; both students and the teacher were on their lunch break, so I ran in and slammed the door behind me. I paced furiously around the room, attempting to release my anger in some peaceful way. I only succeeded in snapping some pencils and crying. _It's one thing for someone to attack me,_ I thought to myself, enraged, _but it's a whole other story when my friends are attacked. I cannot believe that Chie would stoop that low; she _must_ have known that I wouldn't have been the only person wanting a cake, so why did she take such a stupid risk in getting others sick when it would all be blamed on her in the first place?_ I shrieked incoherently, snapping some more pencils before curling up in a corner and crying. I was acting like a child, I admit it, but what else was I supposed to do? Whip out the magical antidote to cure Tamaki and the other boy? Wish on a shooting star that Chie never existed and that none of this ever happened? There was no other rational thing I could think of doing, so I simply let my rage flow out with my tears.

"Talia? Where are you?" Mori's panicked voice drifted in from the hall, but I didn't care. My crying would probably alert him to where I was soon enough. It wasn't long, as I thought, before Mori opened the door to the classroom and saw me in my miserable state, curled up in a corner like a child. "Why did you run off, Talia?" He came closer towards me, but I ignored him. "Why are you crying?"

"Why am I _crying?_" I repeated, still not looking in his direction. "One of my friends – and somebody I don't even know! – are lying in the nurse's station from being _poisoned_ by some stupid cake that _I_ was supposed to eat. It should have been _me_ to eat the cakes and lie in there, not knowing if the pain will ever stop. Not _them! _It should have been me! This is my entire fault, I . . ."

"Stop it." Before I could finish another word, Mori had knelt down beside me, turned me around and hugged me, firmly and caringly. "It's not your fault. Please stop crying."

"It _is_ my fault," I insisted, burying my face into his shoulder, my tears slowing as my nerves calmed. "If only I hadn't come here in the first place . . ."

"Stop it, Talia!" Mori's voice, hard and commanding, stopped me again. He pulled away so he could see my face. I, dumbfounded by his outburst, stared at him in shock. "I know that you feel awful and you think this is your fault," he continued in a gentler voice, wiping away the last of my tears with his hands, "but it's not. Tamaki knew what he was doing. Anyone would have done the same."

"But, why . . ."

"Chie will never be caught unless something happened to someone other than you." Mori explained, his onyx black eyes searching my face, begging me to understand. "Tamaki knew what he was doing; now Chie will be questioned, and with the proof we have against her, she'll be punished properly."

"But . . . that doesn't change the fact that Tamaki is in pain! That anyone else is suffering because of her actions! And she only did those things because of me!" I persisted, taking Mori's hands in my own, partially keeping them on my face. "None of it should have happened. I feel terrible about everything. . ."

"It's not your fault," Mori drew me back into a hug, which I returned with force. "You're alright; Chie will be punished for what happened. Tamaki and that other student will be fine." No more tears came, but Mori gently stroked my hair as I held onto him.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I'm sorry that I'm acting this way and that you have to see me like this, Mori."

"No," he whispered back. "Thank you for letting me help you; I didn't know if you still wanted to keep your distance because of the accident," I froze at the thought of the fall and of being attacked in the hall, but he continued, "but I'm glad that you let me be here for you."

"It means the world to me that you did," I replied softly, squeezing him tighter for a moment, which he promptly returned.

We sat there, hugging for what seemed forever before Mori whispered in my ear, "They're probably wondering where we've gone."

"You're probably right," I smiled, pulling back and looking at his face. His smile was real, bigger than I had seen in a long time; the look in his eyes told me he saw the same thing on my face. We stood up, and I cleaned up the pencils I had broken and threw them in the garbage. We didn't say a word, but we did leave that classroom with new reassurances in our hearts; we had learned that trusting to that new degree wasn't as bad as we thought it'd be. With this newfound confidence, we walked back to the nurse's station in search of the newest report of Tamaki's health.


	15. Chapter 15

As it turns out, Tamaki had been deemed well enough to leave the nurse's station, but his father was insistent that he be moved to the nearby hospital to ensure the cleaning solution was out of his system; when we arrived at the nurse's station, she told us that the chairman wanted to speak to the both of us. As Mori had told me back in the classroom, we suspected that Chie had been brought in to be questioned, and Mori and I made our way to Mr. Suoh's office to give my side of the story.

When we entered the room, our suspicions were confirmed; we saw Chie sitting in a chair opposite Mr. Suoh; there had been a heated discussion going on, and when I entered the room, Chie's temper only flared higher.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked, her voice seething with irritation.

"Miss – Robinson, I believe it was? – is here to tell her point of the story, Miss Utada," Tamaki's father answered for me, his face burrowed in a deep frown. "She believes that _you_ were the one to slip the poisoned cakes into the cafeteria and that you are also the one who offered her one of the cakes in the first place."

"What?" Chie's eyes flashed from me to Mr. Suoh and then back to me. "How _dare _you tell the chairman of Ouran such an outrageous _lie_ . . . you Yankee."

"That's enough, Miss Utada," Tamaki's father censured Chie before I could make a response. "I do not need to hear you try to defend yourself any longer! Miss Robinson will give her side of the story without _any _interruptions! Am I clear?" Chie grew silent, her face reddening with embarrassment and rage, I was sure. "Please, Miss Robinson, have a seat; you too, Mr. Morinozuka." I shouldn't have been shocked that Tamaki's father knew Mori as I sat in my indicated chair; the two boys were in the same club, so their fathers must have had some form of dealing with one another out in the real world.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman," I stated politely, keeping my focus on him rather than on Chie.

"Now, will you please tell me what happened this afternoon?"

"Well, sir," I began, keeping my gaze intently on Mr. Suoh and not on Chie, "I walked into lunch with Tamaki today as I have for some time now for protective reasons . . ."

"Protection from what?" Mr. Suoh inquired, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"From Chie," I allowed myself a quick glance in Chie's direction to only to have my eyes be sent back to their original focus; her eyes were slits, watching my every move carefully. "For the past couple weeks she has been very rude and unkind to me; several times pranks have been pulled on me by Chie or her friends – they were there when each prank happened to be able to laugh – and she has also taken the liberty of sitting where my friends and I usually sit during lunch, Tamaki and other members of the Host Club included in that group."

"I did not," Chie instantly denied my statement, but a stern glare from Tamaki's father made her quiet again.

"Anyway, Tamaki and I were getting our lunches when Chie walked up to us. She greeted us, and then told us about these new cakes that the cafeteria was serving and how good they were. She offered me one, but I turned it down because it had berries in it and I am not a fan of any form of berry." Mr. Suoh's eyes narrowed even further as he pondered over my information. "Tamaki, however, was interested and asked Chie to give him one, and she complied with slight hesitation." Chie seemed ready to speak up again, but she thought better of it and kept silent.

"Tamaki and I left Chie and headed over to the table we have recently made our new sitting place; my three friends I usually sit with were gone today, so it was just Tamaki and I. We were talking when we heard a scream from the other side of the lunch room and saw a boy on the floor, twitching and vomit around him. There was a cake identical to the one Tamaki had received on the table where he was sitting, and one of the students at that table confirmed that the boy had eaten at least half of it before he became sick." My hands clenched on the arm rest of my chair as I continued. "I turned back to see Tamaki also becoming sick, but he had only taken one bite of his cake. Whatever was in those cakes, Mr. Chairman, proved itself to be very poisonous to humans." I glared at Chie. "I believe that Chie Utada had the cakes poisoned and attempted to have me eat one so _I_ would get sick. It was all supposed to be a cruel joke on me, but it got out of control before she knew what was going on."

"That's ridiculous! I would never do such a thing!" Chie immediately stood up in her chair, jabbing a finger in my direction as she did so. "This _American_ decided that it would be fun to pick on me, so she's been going around and making up all these stories about me '_bullying'_ her and _'playing jokes'_ on her for fun." She glared at me, fake tears welling up in her eyes. "She's turning everyone against me!"

"That's not true!" I stood up now at the same time Mori did, though he rose slowly. He spoke next, calmer than I would ever muster in a situation such as that.

"Mr. Chairman," he began softly, grabbing the older man's attention. "Would it be alright if I gave my side of the story?"

"Were you there?" The chairman asked, a slightly exasperated tone entering his voice.

"Not today, no," Mori conceded, "but I have been around for the past semester, and I can confirm Talia's story." I looked to Mori, slightly confused until he gave me a nod of reassurance. I slowly sat back down, exhaling silently while Chie still stood rigid in front of her chair.

"Talia has been visiting the Ouran Host Club since the first day of the semester." Mori began, looking directly at Tamaki's father. "Although she can be rather quite, she has been a wonderful guest, kind and nice to everyone, even to those who don't ask nor deserve her kindness." I kept looking down at the floor, taking in what Mori was saying. "Everyone in the Host Club has taken a liking to her, and since she has been attending, I have noticed Chie becoming more and more jealous of her. In fact, Chie was even banned from the Host Club awhile ago because of her unnecessary rudeness to Talia while visiting with my cousin, Mitsukuni, and I. Since being banned, the increasing number of attacks and jokes on Talia has proved growing more and more dangerous. All of these attacks also point towards being conducted by Chie and her friends, including some boys outside of Ouran she hired to scare Talia." I shuddered slightly at the memory of both of my nearly-fatal attacks as Mori finished, "I believe that this incident falls right into the same category, Mr. Chairman. And we have enough proof from Talia and Tamaki's testimony's that Chie Utada is guilty of this attack." With that finishing statement – and an understanding nod from the Chairman (and a slightly shocked look from me; I had never heard him utter so much in a week less than right now) – Mori sat back down next to me. He cast me a reassuring glance, and I attempted to return it.

"Seeing all that has been brought for against you, Miss Utada," Tamaki's father spoke slowly, turning his serious gaze towards Chie, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do except conduct further investigations into what Miss Robinson and Mr. Morinozuka have said. You will be held here for a period of, shall we say, house-arrest, until we get to the bottom of this mishap."

"WHAT?" Chie's voice caught me off-guard; I jumped in my seat at the force of her outburst. "You can't do that to me! My father will hear about this, and then . . ."

"You're right," Tamaki's father kept a cool composure as he stood up from his chair, staring down Chie, "your father _will_ hear about this incident as he will also be questioned in this matter, as well as any other people that you've had contact with this past semester. Trust me, Miss Utada; you had better hope that we don't find anything. The charges you are facing will result in _expulsion_ from Ouran Academy." Chie only stared in utter shock mingled with horror as Mr. Suoh continued. "We have a reputation to uphold here, and we will not tolerate any form of troublemaker for anyone in this school, whether it is student or faculty." He then turned to Mori and me, saying, "You two may leave now. If anything further arises, expect to hear from me."

"Thank you, sir." I stood up slowly, nodding my head in thanks. Mori did the same, and as we turned around to leave, an incoherent shriek pierced the air. We turned around quickly to see Chie rushing towards us, her eyes livid.

"I hate you!" she screamed as she made her way toward us, directed straight at me. "You've ruined my life! You've upset everything!" I put up my arms to shield my face, but I didn't feel the impact of the outraged girl. I slightly opened my eyes to see Mori in front of me, shielding me with his body and keeping Chie from progressing any further towards me.

"Mori!" I exclaimed, but soon took several steps back until up against the wall as Chie screamed, her arms attempting to reach around Mori to grab me. I looked to Mori, while the sounds of Chie still struggling against Mori's barricade made me cover my ears. My eyes were glued on Mori's head, and it wasn't until another startled shriek from Chie dragged my attention away from him. Chie's arms had disappeared from sight; she was being restrained by someone, and I looked around Mori to see some security guards that Mr. Suoh must have summoned on either side of Chie, holding back her arms and attempting to keep her in their grasp while she thrashed violently.

"Are you alright?" the Chairman rushed over to Mori, who shook his head.

"I'm fine," he attempted to reassure us, but I saw the blood running down the back of his right arm before he could finish his statement.

"You're bleeding!" I exclaimed, rushing into my pocket and pulling out a pack of travel tissues. I tore out three, carefully took off Mori's jacket (with help from the Chairman) and placed them on his arm, soaking up the excess blood before the Chairman appeared with a bandage. Chie's fingernails had created three parallel, semi-deep gashes in Mori's arm, but the bandage would keep the blood at bay. There were more scratches on both of his arms, but they hadn't penetrated the skin like these three had.

"I'm fine," Mori repeated as his injury was treated. "I'm just glad you're safe." His words made me pause and look up at him. I felt a mixed feeling of gratitude and irritation welling up inside of me, but before I could speak the Chairman guided us toward the door to his office.

"I will make sure to let the two of you know the instant Tamaki's out of the hospital," he told us, opening the door for us. "For now, you two should head home."

"What about the rest of our school day?" I asked, worried about missing classes.

"I'll send word to your teachers that you both had to leave early by my orders. If you miss any school work, just leave it to me." Mr. Suoh responded, smiling.

"Thank you very much," I said again before adding, "I'm sorry all this happened. I don't know what I've done wrong, but Chie . . ."

"Trust me, dear girl," Mr. Chairman smiled bitterly, "you did nothing wrong. There's just something about Miss Utada – and several other people in this world – that makes her angry with anyone as brilliant as you." I was taken aback by this sudden compliment, but a friendly smile from Mr. Suoh made me smile back. "Now, I want both of you go home. Calm down and enjoy your break. And don't worry about Miss Utada. We'll take care of her." With another nod, the Chairman closed the door and Mori and I headed down the hall back to the lunch room to gather my things; through the midst of it all, I had left my things back in the lunch room whereas Mori hadn't even lost his during all the commotion.

"Thank you, by the way," I spoke as we walked, looking up at Mori. "I really wish you hadn't gotten hurt."

"It's only some minor scratches," Mori stated simply. "They will heal."

"I know," I sighed, "but it doesn't make me feel any better when every time I turn around I'm being attacked and then you put your life in danger for me. It scares me."

"Really?" Mori stopped walking briefly, causing me to stop as well.

"Of course," I turned to look at him. "It's strange that you coming to my rescue has become a regular thing almost. I wish there was some time where we _weren't_ in danger and not in the Host Club to hang out." I smiled, a small trickle of laughter escaping my mouth. Mori had done the same; his laugh was nice, strong and solid even when barely audible. I was about to turn around and start walking again when Mori said something that caught me completely off-guard:

"Would you like to hang out sometime?"

That statement – out of the many, good and bad, I had heard over the course of living in Japan – was the only on to make me immediately freeze. I turned slowly around, my heart jumping with excitement/nervousness. "Really?" I hoped I hadn't sound too excited, but Mori's look didn't tell me anything. He was just as nervous about this as I was.

"Yeah," he nodded. "You're right; we seem to be only hanging out when things happen or we're at the Host Club. Would you like to hang out with me sometime? . . . During break, just the two of us?"

I nodded, slowly at first and then slightly faster, "Yeah, Mori. That would be great."

"Where would you like to go?" Mori asked, a silent sigh of relief escaping him.

"Anywhere you want to go is fine; I'd like to hang around town, if that's alright," I requested. "I'm still not completely familiar with the town, and you know it a lot better than I do, I'm sure." I smiled along with Mori, who seemed slightly lost in far-off thought.

"Sure," Mori nodded. "Here; let me take you home and then I'll see where you live so I know where to pick you up. Then we can decide on a day."

"Sounds like a plan," I smiled as we arrived to the lunch room. "I'll be right back." With an agreeing nod and smile from Mori, I rushed into the cafeteria to see some janitors cleaning up.

"Excuse me," I caught the attention of the one closest to me, "was there a briefcase found in here? I think I may have left it here during lunch time."

"There is one over there," the janitor pointed in the direction I was hoping for, and sure enough, my bag and case were still sitting where I had left them.

"Thank you," I smiled, rushing over to grab my things. I quickly left the lunch room, eager to get back to Mori when the sound of quick footsteps turned me around.

"You dropped this," the janitor claimed, holding a small, folded note up for me to see. Internally, I froze with fear, but externally I smiled, thanking the janitor and taking the note. I dared not to look at it here, so I shoved it in my pocket and went back out to where Mori waited, lost deep in thought again.

"I'm ready," I smiled at him, drawing him back to reality. He smiled again, but I noticed a knowing look flash through his eyes as we walked on; I hope he didn't ask about the note, not while I didn't know who it came from.

"I was thinking a week from now," Mori said suddenly, drawing _me_ out of _my_ thinking. "That way if you have anything to do this week, it won't get in the way."

"It?" I asked, and then realized what he was talking about the instant the question left my mouth. "I'm sorry, Mori. I'm still a little shaken from today."

"Of course," he nodded in hesitant agreement, and then paused to hold open the door for me out to the school entrance. I nodded a thank-you, and as we made our way to his car, he stopped me.

"What's wrong?" It was the question I had feared, and he asked it as walked.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem . . . off." That was all he said, but I was still shocked that he had noticed. "Nothing's troubling you, is it?"

"Well . . ." I slowly said, amazed at how easily he had read me. My hand instinctively reached into the pocket where the note sat, and I knew I couldn't keep it from him forever, let alone now. "The janitor said I dropped this when I was walking back out of the lunch room, and I haven't read it yet, so I probably shouldn't be anxious, but . . ."

"Let me see," Mori softly ordered, and I didn't hesitate in handing over the little note. Mori swiftly read it, then crumpled it up and shoved it in his own pocket.

"What are you . . .?

"Never mind," Mori simply shook his head. "You don't need to worry about it." Even though his words were meant to reassure, the rigidness of his facial expression told me that there was definitely something he wasn't telling me.

"Alright," I hesitantly agreed, and as we approached his car, he opened the door for me. We rode home in almost complete silence, besides slight chatter about our date. We were almost to my house when Mori finally faced me, his attention slightly leaving the road.

"Chie won't bother you anymore," he stated. "You know that, right?"

"I'd like to think that, yes," I nodded, "but I'm still not 100 percent convinced." I looked Mori straight in the eye as I said, "So long as we both attend Ouran, I think that Chie will always have some form of issue with me, no matter what."

Mori sighed in defeat. "Yes, I believe that too. But as long as I am around – the Host Club as well – she won't be able to harm you. Not ever."

"And I'm very grateful for that," I told him. "I've never had real friends like you, the Host Club, or Jinga, Aiko, and Shina, and I don't think I could ever possibly tell you how amazingly grateful I am for all of you." Warmness filled me as I spoke, and I shared the warmth through a smile with Mori as he looked at me. He returned the gesture with his own genuine smile, and it wasn't long after that he pulled onto my road.

"I'm the third house on the right," I pointed to my driveway, and he quickly pulled into it, observing my house as we sat there.

"It's a nice house," Mori commented. "Not like Haruhi's."

"Haruhi doesn't live in a nice house?" I asked, slightly shocked.

"I meant that Haruhi lives in an aggregate commoner dwelling," Mori amended, "whereas you live in a commoner . . ." he trailed off as he caught the look I gave him.

"Just because I don't live in a mansion doesn't mean I live in a _commoner's_ home." I crossed my arms, more amused than miffed, but Mori sensed my irritation.

"I didn't mean . . ." he attempted to explain, but I held a hand up, cutting him off.

"I know what you meant. That doesn't mean I liked the wording you used." I grabbed my things, smiling at the expression he had while he scolded himself internally. "I'll see you later, then?" I asked, smiling at him. His expression that morphed from embarrassed to relief made me smile wider, and he nodded.

"I'll pick you up next Friday at 7:00," he confirmed as I stood up from my seat, turning to face him one last time.

"I'll be waiting," I grinned. "Bye, Mori."

"Bye Talia." I closed the door of his car, waving before walking quickly to my front door. Mori pulled out quickly, lingering for only a moment longer as I waved for a final time, standing outside until his car disappeared down the street.

When I went inside, I literally dumped my things, and squealed out of pure happiness. Just when I thought we were headed down the road of friendship, Mori had asked me to hang out with him. Just he and I, with no falling from cliffs or being attacked by deranged archrivals or Host Club members around.

With a quick call to my usual pick-up from school to alert him that he didn't need to pick me up and a swift message on each of my best friends' phones that I had important news for them, I went to my room, changed into the comfiest clothes I owned and fell asleep, a lingering smile on my face as I fantasized about my first date with Mori.


	16. Chapter 16

I am a horrible person. I started working at my first job in April (the last time I updated) and life has run off with me since. I hope that three full chapters will be enough to satisfy you all; I'm even going to try one in different perspective than Talia's. I apologize for the long wait; I will attempt to come back on my days off, like I did for these.

-MJS

Before I knew it, a week had flown by; I had been swarmed by Aiko, Jinga, and Shina during this past week. The message I had left on each of their phones is what first brought them, but the story of Chie's downfall and my now planned date with Mori basically rooted them into my house. They had stayed basically all week – minus nights when they went home and the few days I forced them to go home so they could live their own lives – and helped plan what I was going to wear and what I should and shouldn't say. Not that I didn't appreciate their help; it was just that I enjoyed my sleep and my free time, both of which were messed with, despite my friends' good intentions. It almost got out of control on the Thursday before.

I had been ambushed that morning and dragged into a limousine, even though I had woken up mere minutes before. I didn't even have the strength to fight, for crying out loud! I groggily looked around the cabin of the limo, eventually registering my friends' faces. They were all dressed to the nines, ready for a day out in the city. I managed to catch a glimpse of what I had on . . . or did _they _put me in this? A pair of jean capris I had never seen before registered in my vision, as did a white 3/4 sleeve in the corner of my eye. I'd never seen these clothes before in my life; they _did_ dress me this morning! Why couldn't they have grabbed my FMA hoodie or something?!

"Are you all _crazy?!"_ I guess I didn't sound as enraged as I felt, because I only received sympathetic – yes, they were giving me _sympathy_ – giggles from all three of them.

"Well, I wouldn't know about crazy . . ." Shina's voice laughed from my right, and the other two laughed with her as she didn't finish her statement.

"Poor Talia," Aiko spoke next, sarcasm tinting her voice. "Didn't get enough sleep? Well, your _first date ever_ is tomorrow and _we're _taking you shopping so that you look your very best!"

"I thought we agreed I was going to wear my FMA t-shirt and kakis; you know, casual … and comfortable?" The mere notion of placing me in some frilly, girly dress or something gave me the chills, and I _knew_ that anything they could possibly put me in wasn't as comfy as my own clothing.

"Oh please, we're not going to force you into a ball-gown!" Jinga protested from between Aiko and Shina. "We just want to get you something that doesn't have an anime plastered on it!"

"Don't go dissing _Hagane no Renkinjitsu,_" I scowled at her. "One of the best animes _ever."_ I then glanced down at what I was wearing. "And what's with this outfit?" I gestured to it. "I mean, no, it doesn't look _bad_, but I'm positive that I had no say in putting it on; as well as going to wherever we're headed to!"

"Oh, you're so dramatic!" Aiko threw her hands in the air as we turned a corner and then stopped. All three sets of eyes across from me looked out the window to their right and smiled. I glanced hesitantly out my window, and my mouth fell open at the sight of a gigantic department store. "We're just going to make a few stops here before we break for lunch." The doors opened, causing my heart to drop through the floor even faster. "Then we'll head to another store before we head home to finalize your look.""Do I have to?" My agonized moan made them all laugh before they began to drag me out of the limo. I didn't protest, but I didn't exactly help them either.

"Oh, please, Talia," Shina scoffed, shaking her head in disapproval. "You'd think you were sentenced to the torture chamber before the guillotine; pull it together, would you?" Her dark suggestion did move my feet a little; I hadn't known Shina to kid often.

"Oh, alright." I gave in, sighing and receiving shrills of happiness from Aiko and Jinga, and a sly smile from Shina. "But absolutely nothing _pink or frilly_; I will find a way to escape, and that's a promise."

"This is going to be the _best shopping trip ever!_" Jinga exclaimed, and off we went into the gigantic mall; it felt like arriving at Ouran all over again, except ten times worse.

We barely walked in the front door before we encountered the mob; floods of people were roaming this place, whether grabbing a bite to eat at a food stand or browsing through the various items they had purchased during what might have been a temporary break from the madness.

"Good grief," I whispered before I felt my arm being tugged in random direction.

"Don't worry, we won't lose you!" Aiko laughed as she began to move forward, Shina and Jinga on either side while I was towed behind.

And off we went. Not noticing or caring what store they pulled me into, I was placed in a chair next to a dressing room while each of the girls took turns grabbing something they thought would look good on me. It was rough at first, for each and every one was determined to get me in something pink. I about got up and walked out before the first black piece came up. We spent some time in the first store, buying only a couple items. When Shina pulled out her wallet, I immediately protested.

"No," I placed my hand out. "I didn't agree to this; I don't want you all to buy me all these clothes. I'll never be able to pay you back."

"We don't want you to pay us back," Shina held her card out to the cashier, not looking at me. "We're doing this because you are our friend and we want you to have a fantastic first date." As the transaction was made, Shina glanced at me, a small smile forming on her face. I returned it quickly before the clothes were given back to us and we were off in another whirlwind to another store.

We probably stopped at seven – I kid you not, _seven_ – different stores before we each had our arms loaded with clothes and aching feet. Well, I had aching feet, but how could they not? They had walked faster than I had this whole entire way!

"Alright, let's head back outside and drop these off and then stop for lunch." Aiko seemed to be in charge of this whole adventure, and Jinga and Shina didn't argue with her (they did have their silent say; just watching them talk from a distance in the stores made me stifle laughter through almost every single one).

"Yes, ma'am," I responded, unable to give her a proper salute because my arms were full. "Just one question; where on earth am I going to keep all these clothes? I'd barely have room for one bag full let alone the twenty we've accumulated."

"No worries," Jinga smiled, her eyes filled with what looked like understanding. "We'll keep them for you."

"You can have some of them," I laughed out loud. "Even when I go back home, there's no way I can keep all of them. Both my parents will die of heart attacks!" We all laughed at that, even though I was dead serious.

"Well, let's go, before _we_ die of blood loss to our arms; these are heavy!" Aiko complained, moving faster towards the entrance. We all followed suit, but before I even took a step, some familiar voices caught my attention. I looked around me, but I couldn't pinpoint the faces to the voices I thought I had heard.

"Talia! What's the hold-up?" Aiko's voice brought me back, and I turned quickly.

"Coming!" I rushed to where the three of them waited, wondering why I thought I had heard something. We made our way back out to the limo, where we packed it with our bounty before going back in and hunting down a McDonalds and taking a break. To our relief, it was semi-full and a booth open near the back for us. We ordered our food and chowed down; I was practically starving from all the exercise.

"Goodness, Talia," Jinga giggled, "you think you hadn't eaten in days. How can you eat so much?" I popped another french fry into my mouth as she asked, and I answered with a sweeping gesture to my food.

"Back home, this is a rather meager meal. In my family, you eat till your full, because there may not be food tomorrow." The where an eerie pause as I continued to eat.

"Really?" Aiko spoke up eventually, cautiously glancing at me. I looked up, slightly confused, and then realized that all of these girls had led rather plentiful lives. They didn't know what it felt like to be in my shoes, where money was tight and sometimes there wasn't enough food until payday or the heat went out because we couldn't pay the bill on time.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat it; I've had some rough moments in my life." I paused from eating, looking up at the rest of them. "I've never known an over-abundance of everything because large families in America usually don't have that. We work for our shares, and when we have it, we're grateful for it." The seriousness of the conversation caught me off-guard, but I kept going. "That's why I'm hesitant when you offer all these clothes for only me, when they could be for someone else who really needs them. Yes, a few things would be nice, but I don't have ginormous rotating closets that I can spend hours in." They all smiled at that, as did I. "Man, you guys are depressing." The smiles grew wider. "Why don't we go do some more shopping? Perhaps that will perk you all up."

"Sure," Jinga smiled, "let's go."

And off we went for the rest of the day, until we came back to my house and did some last minute tuning on my outfit for tomorrow. I didn't quite remember all of it because I was so tired, but my friends wrote me out a guide, and that was the last thing I remember before crashing in my room. Before I fell asleep, however, the conversation back in McDonalds ran through my mind, and I realized then how much on a different level I was on than the majority of the people here.

I was an outsider; Haruhi from the Host Club was considered poor, but I was a poor _American. _That set me a level lower than her even. I shook my head as best I could, trying to think of something else. Even if I _was_ an outsider and even if I _did_ come from a not-so-rich family, I still had made great friends here, and I was going on my first date ever with the guy no one though was reachable. That in itself cheered me up, and as I closed my eyes, dreams of my first date running amuck in my head.


	17. Chapter 17

(Surprise! A chapter from Mori's perspective! Up next: the date!)

{The Day of the Cake Poisoning}

Takashi Morinozuka waited outside the lunch room of Ouran Academy for Talia Robinson to grab her things; he had walked in late to school this morning to see Talia attempting to help Tamaki to the nurse's office. Tamaki had become sick as a result of a vicious joke played by Chie Utada, which was supposed to have been played on Talia. Takashi (more commonly known as Mori to his friends) had also calmed Talia when her level of patience broke, and discovered that he was ready to accept Talia's already-proclaimed feelings.

Mori had always wanted to protect his cousin, Mitsukuni; there was no one in the whole world as important to Mori as Mitsukuni. But since Talia showed up at Ouran, Mori had felt a strange connection with her. He wanted to know her more, to be with her, yet he felt these new feelings conflict with his duty to Mitsukuni. He attempted once to convey how he felt, on one of the happiest and scariest days of his life, but his sense of protection for Mitsukuni overpowered him and he ended up hurting Talia's feelings. Now, Mori was sure. He knew that both Mitsukuni and Talia were important, and he had found a way to balance out the feelings inside him.

"I'm ready," Talia's voice brought him back to the real world, and he walked with her towards the entrance of the school.

"I was thinking a week from now," he told her as they walked. "That way, if you have anything to do this week, it won't get in the way."

"It?" Talia's voice was confused, and he turned to see her realize her mistake. "I'm sorry, Mori. I'm still a little shaken from today."

"Of course," he nodded in agreement, but he knew that something else was on her mind. It wasn't the date ... was it? They made their way to his car, but he stopped her before they made it there.

"What's wrong?" Mori asked her as they moved, turning towards her slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem ... off." He didn't feel he needed to elaborate, but he watched her face as he asked, "Nothing's troubling you, is it?"

Talia paused; Mori noticed her hand slip into her pocket. "Well . . ." She sighed, confessing, "The janitor said I dropped this when I was walking back out of the lunch room, and I haven't read it yet, so I shouldn't be anxious, but . . ."

Mori knew what that meant. "Let me see," He told her softly, and she didn't hesitate to do so. He opened the little note, and what he read turned his blood cold:

_Don't think you've won. Never think you're **safe**. This is only the beginning. That is a **promise**._

He instantly crumpled the note and shoved it into his jacket pocket. Talia watched him, confusion plain in her voice. "What are you . . . ?"

"Never mind," he assured her, shaking his head. "You don't need to worry about it." Talia didn't push it, and Mori shoved the thought of the note to the back of his mind and took Talia home. They barely talked the whole way there, and Mori was sure that Talia was thinking about Chie: her hands folded in her lap, her gaze focused on them as if trying to distract herself.

"Chie won't bother you anymore; you know that, right?" Mori asked her, drawing out of her silent state.

"I'd like to think that, yes, but I'm still not 100 percent convinced." Talia looked to him, and the thought of the note drifted back into Mori's mind. "So long as we both attend Ouran, I think that Chie will always have some form of issue with us."

Mori sighed in agreement. "Yes, I believe that too. But as long as I am around – the Host Club as well – she won't be able to harm you. Not ever."

"And I'm very grateful for that," Talia responded. "I've never had real friends like you, the Host Club, or Jinga, Aiko, and Shina, and I don't think I could ever possibly tell you how amazingly grateful I am for all of you." She looked back at him, the same breathtaking smile spreading on her face. Mori returned it with his own thankful smile; thankful that Talia had come to Japan, thankful that they had worked things out, thankful that they were going to take a chance on their feelings.

It wasn't long after that Talia designated her house to Mori, and he dropped her off. After an slightly embarassing goodbye and a final wave, Mori drove home, smiling all the way. "Now to tell Mitsukuni," he whispered to himself, pulling into his driveway.

"Good afternoon, Master Takashi," the Morinozuka's butler greeted Mori as he entered the house. Mori gave him a nod before taking his coat off. "Sir, Master Satoshi is in the parlor with Master Mitsukuni. They insisted on waiting for you."

"Thank you," Mori responded, heading immediately to where his brother and cousin were located. He smiled as the thought occured to him: _Why is Mitsukuni here and not in school?_

"Taka-kun!" Satoshi exclaimed as Mori entered. "You're home!" Satoshi had been sick with a stomach flu, which was rare for him, so he had been permitted to stay home for the day.

"Yes, I am," Mori smiled. "There was a mishap at school today, so I was able to come home early."

"Oh, so that's why Mitsukuni's here!" Satoshi stated, smiling at his older brother.

"Apparently," Mori smiled, looking suspiciously at his cousin, who was sitting across the room from Satoshi. "Hello Mitsukuni."

"Did you do it, Takashi?" Mitsukuni skipped any form of reply and got to the real reason he was here; Tama-chan had sent him on a mission and was determined to complete it.

Mori nodded. "Yes." Mitsukuni's face was uncharacteristically serious, causing Mori to laugh. "Why are you home early?"

"Tama-chan sent me! Usa-chan and I have a mission!" Mitsukuni held up his rabbit to put emphasis on their 'mission'.

"Mitsukuni says that you like Talia," Satoshi interjected. "Is that true, Taka-kun?"

"Yes, I do like Talia. I asked her to hang out with me next week, and she agreed." Mitsukuni and Satoshi's smiles grew extremely wide as Mori continued. "I was hoping to get some advice from the Host Club, so we can ask Kyoya when we go back. We do have to be back in time for the Host Club."

"Will Lia-chan be there?!" Mitsukuni's seriousness all but vanished as he twirled Usa-chan around the room.

"No, I took her home. She's had a rough day, and she deserves some sleep."

"Aww," Mitsukuni was deterred for only a moment before jumping up from his seat, jumping up and down in excitement across the room, continuing to spin in circles with Usa-chan. "Yay yay yay yay!" Satoshi wasn't as expressive, but Mori could tell that he was as happy as Mitsukuni was.

"Takashi! Your arm!" Perceptive as always, Mitsukuni pointed to the bandage on Mori's injured arm, his happiness quickly morphing into worry.

"It's not bad, Mitsukuni; only a few scratches. I'll be okay."

"But what happened?"

"I'll tell you when I tell the rest of the Host Club later today." Mori trodded up the grand stairway before turning around and announcing, "I'm going to get some sleep myself before we head back to the school; you need to head back yourself, Mitsukuni." He sent his cousin a stern look, which moved Mitsukuni from the chair to the doorway.

"Oh, alright. Bye Satoshi!" Honey waved at his younger cousin and then at Mori before leaving. He stuck his head in one last time, smiling brightly as he added, "I can't wait to tell Tama-chan!" And then he was gone, and Mori was about complete his journey up the stairs before Satoshi began to cough.

"Satoshi, do you need some medicine?" Mori called to him, making eye contact with the butler across the way. The strange thing was that no one who knew Satoshi or the Morinozuka's had been ill; Satoshi had mysteriously came down with the sickness.

"I don't think so," Satoshi called back, sounding back to normal. "It was just a tickle."

"I'll keep an eye on him, Master Takashi," the butler appeared again, relieving Mori of what would have become another job.

"Thank you very much," Mori nodded again before beginning his journey upstairs again; maybe this time he'd finish it. He then thought of several things that needed to be done around the house; but before he had the opportunity to turn around and ask the butler if they were done, a voice sounded behind him.

"Get some rest, Master," the butler called to him. "All will be under strict watch while you rest, and everything will be taken care of." Mori didn't respond as he made it to his bedroom, but the statement did reassure him. Without a second thought, Mori flopped onto his bed, thankful for a peaceful retreat from life for the moment.

As Mori lay on his bed, he glanced at the sketch he had hanging beside his bed. It was the head that Talia had drawn for him so that he could practice his own, a long time ago. He had definitely tried, but he was no artist; every attempt didn't look anything like Talia's example. The thought of Talia made him smile, as it did almost every time. The realization that he was, indeed, going to be spending one-on-one time with her sent happiness rushing through him. However, the the thought of the note Talia had found also came back to him, mixing terror into an electrifying mix. What if the note _had _been from Chie or her thugs? What if Talia _was_ in danger? The 'what-ifs' began flying around Mori's head, but then he forced himself to take deep breaths and forget about that. Nothing would go wrong; he was going to plan with the Host Club in a few short hours and everything would be fine. With this in mind, Mori did eventually fall asleep, the last thought: Talia's smile.

{A Couple Hours Later}

Mori woke up in time to make it to the Host Club and when he sat down in his usual spot, he was almost instantly surrounded by many of Honey's fans who had been worried sick that Honey or Mori left early from school. The news of what happened in the lunch room that day was all that anybody was talking about; many were relieved to see Tamaki back in time for his usual Host Club visit. Mori was worried that Tamaki should have stayed home for the rest of the day, but besides his tired look, Tamaki was his same old self.

The day passed by rather slow for Mori; although there were the few who did talk to him (while mostly to Mitsukuni, of course), usually it was Talia that Mori would talk to, and then the time wasn't long enough. The day eventually passed by, and once the doors closed, every Host Club member turned on Mori.

"Congratulations," Tamaki was the first to speak to him. "I'm very happy for you, Mori-senpai."

"What do you mean?" Haruhi spoke up from cleaning, glancing in their direction.

"Takashi and Talia are going on a date!" Mitsukuni exclaimed, causing Mori to feel rather embarrassed; he didn't want the whole world to know.

"Oh wow," Haruhi smiled, looking to Mori. "That's great news, Mori-senpai! Congrats!"

"So what are you planning to do?" The twins glanced at each other before looking back at Mori, and Mori simply looked back at them. He hadn't planned that far yet.

"I'm going to show her around town," he began, "but I don't know what in specific yet . . ."

"And you only have a week to plan for it?!" Tamaki gasped. "Don't you worry, Mori-senpai! Everyone will help you out with your date with Talia!" Mitsukuni was immediately on board, giving Tamaki a high-five before Kyoya stepped in.

"Now, now," Kyoya reprimanded them. "You do have to remember that Talia must be very special to Mori-senpai; you may only _help,_ Tamaki. Not plan the entire thing. This is Mori-senpai's decision; he is the man of the hour, but we must do things as he wants them done." Mori flashed Kyoya a grateful look and received a silent 'You're Welcome' look from Kyoya.

"But Kyoya!" Tamaki began to argue, but a sharp glare from the Demon King sealed Tamaki's mouth instantly. "Okay! Never mind!"

"Then let's get started; Mori-senpai, what exactly did you have in mind to show Talia?" Kyoya began the discussion as the other Club members gathered around Mori.

"Well, first off . . ." They began to plan, and went well into the night with their ideas and schemes. They agreed to meet up again the next day to continue planning, and even after that day they still needed another day to finish last minute details. Once everything was the way Mori would have wanted it, the Host Club had helped plan a night that Talia would never forget (but only to the level of positive remembrance.)

"Well, there you are, Mori-senpai! Three days worth of planning is perfect! You and Talia are going to have so much fun on your date!" Tamaki was absolutely thrilled with the job they had completed; a list had been made, a simple outline of the entire night, and it now sat in front of the entire Club as they admired their work.

"What do you plan on wearing?" Haruhi spoke up from her corner; she hadn't said much through the planning, but she did have some very good ideas when she did speak that Mori added every single one into his plan. Mori didn't respond immediately; he hadn't planned that far either.

"Don't worry! We can get you the sharpest clothes out there!" Tamaki jumped on the idea, fire in his eyes. "You'll knock Talia off her feet when she sees you!" Tamaki then glanced at Haruhi, saying, "Daddy's little girl is so smart! I'd almost forgotten about that!"

"Sorry I said anything," Haruhi muttered, glancing a genuine apologetic look at Mori.

"Why don't we take a break from this for a couple days?" Kyoya suggested. "We don't want to stress out Mori-senpai."

"Why not go the day before?" Hikaru suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"That way you won't have to worry about it." Kaoru finished, nodding in agreement with his twin.

"I guess so," Mori half-agreed; he didn't think he'd need anything extremely fancy, but a new outfit couldn't hurt, could it?

"It's decided then!" Tamaki announced. "We'll all go with Mori-senpai on Thursday shopping for his date!"

"I could use a new suit," Kyoya agreed, more to himself than to the group.

And that was that. The Host Club departed for the night, and Mori went home that night with a mixed feeling of anxiety and relief welling up inside him. When he entered his house, he was surprised to see his mother, Natsumi, coming down the stairs.

"Good evening, Mother," Mori greeted. "How are you?" She had been extremely busy these days, constantly at work, but she had managed to come home for some free time with Mori and Satoshi.

"I'm well, Takashi. How did your planning go?" His mother smiled; it was no secret to Natsumi that her son's first date was coming up. She was glad that he had friends to help him out, but it was time for her to give some advice too.

"We finally finished," Mori smiled. "I think Talia will have a wonderful time."

"What about you?" The question caught Mori off-guard. "Do you think you'll enjoy yourself as well?"

"I'm sure of it," Mori answered confidently. "I don't think I could _not_ enjoy myself, so long as Talia was there with me." He watched a warm smile spread across his mother's face, though he didn't understand where it came from.

"Well, I'm glad you're so sure." Natsumi said softly; she had never seen Mori like this before, with such a confident air about him. Not when he was determined to learn kendo or taking care of Satoshi or Mitsukuni. Natsumi was sure that this was all so new to her son, but it pleased her that she was here to see him grow into a man. "May I tell you something, Takashi?"

"Of course," Mori nodded as his mother made her way to sit in her favorite chair. She sat, and he sat next to her.

"Takashi, I'd like to tell you a story . . ."

{The Day Before the Date}

Time had flown, and before Mori knew it the Host Club was on his doorstep, all ready to head out to shop. Mori didn't have anywhere in particular he wanted to go, so the Host Club went store-hopping. They stopped at various shops in town before heading to one of the well-known department stores.

"What about this?" Tamaki held up a rather dapper suit for Mori to look at, but received a hit on the back of the head from the Hitachiins.

"He's not going to a formal dance!" they exclaimed. "He's going to be moving around town. It needs to be fashionable, yet versatile!" They sighed in unison. "Gee, boss, sometime's you can be a real dummy." Tamaki's face turned pale, but before he could retreat to his 'emo corner', Kyoya stepped in front of him.

"Let me see that," Kyoya snatched the suit from Tamaki's hands, checking the price tag for a size. "And it's not too expensive," he mumbled to himself, wandering back over to the rack of suits. And off Tamaki went to his 'emo corner'.

"Here, Takashi! These look comfy!" Honey held up a pair of khaki shorts with a rather tropical looking flower-print shirt.

"He's not going to Hawaii, either!" The twins criticized, taking the clothes from Honey.

"Well then, what do _you_ think he should wear?"_  
_

"This." The twins responded coming up with a pair of jeans, a shirt and vest combo, and a spiffy fedora. "_This_ is what Mori-senpai should wear."

"Not bad!" Honey agreed. "What do you think, Takashi?"

"No hat," Mori stated. "I like the rest."

"Go try them on then," the twins ordered, throwing the clothes in Mori's direction. He obeyed, and when he stepped out of the dressing room, he received approving looks from the group.

"Talia will love that," Haruhi finally spoke up. "Do you like it?"

Mori glanced down at his outfit; it was comfortable, and it did look and fit well. "Yes." He responded. "I like it."

"Let's go get it then!" Honey exclaimed, and before they knew it they were off again. But before they made it very far, they heard rather familiar voices.

"Look! It's Talia!" Haruhi pointed out, and sure enough, Talia was walking away from the Host Club, surrounded by her three friends and mounds of shopping bags. Haruhi went to call to her before a hand slapped over her mouth.

"Quick! Hide!" The twins shoved the entire group into a nearby store, roughly and quickly. Once they were all there, the group turned on the twins, tempers flared.

"What the heck was that for?" Tamaki yelled, and then lowered his voice quickly as he received strange lookers from other shoppers.

"Talia could have spotted Mori-senpai!" Hikaru and Kaoru explained. "She has to wait until tomorrow to see him! That way his new outfit will have full affect!"

"This is a _date,_ not a _wedding!" _Haruhi hissed. "And it works the other way around! We could have said hi!" Honey sighed his agreement with Haruhi. In truth, Mori did want to say hi to Talia, but he also wanted to surprise her with his outfit. The twins kept a sharp look-out for Talia, but she had left with her friends.

"It's alright; let's go," Mori spoke up, walking out of the store with or without the Host Club. The Host Club soon followed, and they didn't dwell much longer within the store. They had what they had come for, so they parted ways with final wishes of good luck to Mori.

As Mori himself headed home, he suddenly wished that he had seen Talia in the store. He had thought of something last night; he had brainstormed with the Host Club before-hand, but the actual idea had come to him yesterday. _It'll have to wait until tomorrow,_ he shrugged to himself, and the thought of tomorrow kept a smile plastered on his face for the rest of the day.


End file.
